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Diabetes Is A Serious Health Problem Gaining Increasing Global Attention From Governments Public Health Organizations

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Diabetes is a serious health problem gaining increasing global attention from governments public health organisations. This global attention can be attributed to the increasing implications diabetes has on public health (CDC, 2016). Every six seconds a person dies from diabetes (IDF, 2016). Despite the measures to prevent and treat this disease, its prevalence is still on the increase, especially in middle- and low-income countries; more so, health professionals envisage it will rise drastically in the coming years (WHO, 2016). The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that worldwide, approximately 415 million adults have diabetes and 642 million people will have the disease in 2040 (IDF, 2016). These figures of diabetes – …show more content…

Hence the effectiveness of the role of public health in the prevention and management of diabetes is in question. This fact is accentuated in The Lancet Editorial when it made a noteworthy statement: “The fact that Type 2 diabetes, a largely preventable disorder, has reached epidemic proportion is a public health humiliation.” (The Lancet, 2010). The writer will therefore use a case study (Appendix 1) which features a patient diagnosed with prediabetes to critically analyse evidence based practices relating to the care of persons with a diagnosis of diabetes and critically evaluate the strategies of public health in Type 2 diabetes prevention and management. Diabetes can be described as “a serious life-long health condition that occurs when the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because the body can’t use it properly” (DiabetesUK, 2017a); “a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal” (CDC, 2015); or “a condition characterized by hyperglycaemia resulting from the body 's inability to use blood glucose for energy” (ADA, 2014). Although these definitions emphasise diabetes link with hyperglycaemia, hyperglycaemia can also occur without diabetes (Diapedia, 2014). Medical conditions such as Hyperthyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, and severe stress can also cause hyperglycaemia (Stoppler, 2016). It

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