Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Type 1 diabetes mellitus occurs when pancreatic beta cells are destroyed through an autoimmune reaction. This leads to the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes mellitus presents with polyphagia, polyuria, and polydipsia. Unexpected weight loss, fatigue, and blurred vision are the other significant signs and symptoms. The disease can also be inherited. The disease is common in juveniles; however, it can also occur in adults. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you. We offer assignment help with high professionalism.

The need for proper management and preventive diabetes strategies has been advocated for. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 34 million Americans have diabetes. Approximately 27 million people have been diagnosed, and 7 million people remain undiagnosed (CDC, 2018). It is estimated that 88 million Americans have pre-diabetes. The report indicated that in 2018, the number of newly diagnosed diabetes cases was 1.5 million (CDC, 2018). The incidences were higher in persons aged 45 years and above. Out of these incidences, it is reported that type 1 diabetes mellitus accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of the cases. Based on the estimations by the American Diabetes Association, approximately $326 billion was incurred on diagnosed diabetes mellitus in 2017 (CDC, 2018). Out of the $326 billion, about $235 billion was channeled to treatment costs, while $91 billion resulted from a reduction in productivity.

Approximately 40 percent of Americans with type 1 diabetes develop complications. The complications are attributable to poor management of the disease. The complications include macrovascular and microvascular complications, increased risk of infections, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hypoglycemia. Microvascular complications include retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy (Loundou et al., 2021). Macrovascular complications include cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular complications. It is reported that retinopathy and end-stage renal disease are twice higher in males than females (Umanath & Lewis, 2018). Hypoglycemia resulting from poor management of diabetes mellitus can cause coma and death. Furthermore, the disease is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease and foot amputations.

Role of Interprofessional Team.

Interprofessional collaboration is essential in the care and management of type 1 diabetic patients. Nurses, physicians, dieticians, and pharmacists all play an important in providing proper care and averting complications. When diabetic complications are minimized, treatment costs are reduced. The interprofessional team should conduct rigorous patient education and public awareness campaigns (Szafran et al., 2019). Public awareness campaigns result in a reduction in the incidences of the disease because people take precautionary measures.

Nurses should facilitate the administration of medications to all diabetic inpatients. They should monitor the patient’s vitals, such as HbA1c, pre-prandial, and postprandial blood glucose (Szafran et al., 2019). This enables treatment monitoring and acts as the basis for the modification of regimens to meet patients’ needs. Nurses should take part in patient education. They should educate the patient on the importance of lifestyle modifications such as regular aerobic exercise.

Dieticians educate diabetic patients on the importance of diet modifications. Changes in the timing of meals, frequencies, meal sizes, and type of meals should be emphasized. They should prescribe the number of calories to be taken daily, recommend quantities of fat, starch, and proteins, and how to split calories between snacks and daytime meals (Reeves et al., 2017). Diet modifications involve an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. These modifications can help to avert hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia after meals.

Pharmacists are involved in educating the patient on the effective use of medication. The patient should know how to administer insulin and the importance of taking other medications as instructed. Pharmacists should also review the prescription and ensure that it is best suited to the patient (Ray et al., 2020). Physicians take part in developing treatment plans for the patient. Treatment plans should be individualized. They should participate in regular patient follow-ups and modify their regimen based on the treatment outcomes.  Well-coordinated interprofessional collaboration decreases complications, improves the prognosis, and decreases the costs and incidences of diabetes mellitus.

Management of Diabetes Mellitus.

The Centers for Disease and Prevention centers and the World Health Organization advocate for proper diabetic prevention and management strategies. Early diagnosis improves the prognosis of the disease. A tight glycemic control should be initiated immediately after diagnosis. This entails the use of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents such as Metformin. Tight glycemic control decreases the incidences of diabetic complications and lowers the costs incurred on its management (Meng et al., 2019). Different types of insulin can be used based on the individualized needs of the patient. They include short-acting, rapid-acting, intermediate-acting, and long-acting insulins (Castle et al., 2017). Patients should cooperate with healthcare providers by demonstrating a level of compliance. Patient education on the importance of dietary modifications, avoiding sedentary lives, and proper insulin use are essential. Awareness campaigns can help to reduce the incidences of diabetes mellitus.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) advocates for life-long coordinated management of diabetes mellitus. It reiterates the importance of tight glycemic control, patient education, and public awareness campaigns. Furthermore, the need for regular screening sessions is emphasized. A collaboration of the Federal and State governments should ensure that the public is screened regularly (Zie et al., 2020). Screening facilitates the early detection of diabetes mellitus. This enables the prompt initiation of treatment and other preventive interventions, such as lifestyle modifications. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) provides guidelines that recognize the risks associated with tight glycemic control. Tight glycemic control can lead to severe hypoglycemia. The guidelines developed by the AACE require the development of individualized treatment plans with constant monitoring of HbA1c, pre-prandial, and post-prandial blood glucose levels.

Evidence and Positions That are Contrary to a Team’s Approach.

The above paper focuses on the importance of an interprofessional approach in the management of diabetes mellitus. The interprofessional approach facilitates tight glycemic control and a reduction in the complications of diabetes mellitus to improve the prognosis of the disease. However, it is very difficult to achieve effective interprofessional collaboration in a healthcare setting. This implies that the management of diabetes mellitus may not be adequately addressed by an interprofessional team.

The barriers to collaboration can be classified as organizational, team, and individual barriers. Organizational barriers are related to the healthcare institution. Healthcare institutions lack policies that recognize the importance of teamwork in the management of diseases (Szafran et al., 2019). Financial constraints may hinder collaboration because the institution can fail to hire particular team members, such as dieticians. This organizational culture does not promote collaboration, and only one or two healthcare providers are involved in the care of diabetic patients.

Team barriers arise from the interprofessional team. The absence of a clearly defined goal and purpose hinders collaboration (Löffler et al., 2017). This creates ambiguity in their roles and leadership. It can lead to substandard healthcare services being provided to the patient. Lack of a proper and timely communication channel among team members discourages collaboration (Löffler et al., 2017). This can cause inadequacy in making critical decisions and lower the quality of services provided. Members may refuse to accept advice from members of other professions due to mistrusting the collaborative approach (Reeves et al., 2017). Furthermore, when the team is not composed of relevant members involved in diabetes management, the corporation is disrupted.

Interprofessional collaboration can be achieved through different strategies. Healthcare institutions should create policies that uphold collaboration. Healthcare providers should recognize and respect the skills of other health professionals. The management of all diseases should be managed by an interprofessional team with a well-defined goal. An appropriate channel of conflict resolution should be established.

Conclusion.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease that results in the destruction of pancreatic beta cells and a decrease in insulin secretion. Poorly managed diabetes mellitus is associated with various complications, such as retinopathy and nephropathy. Tight glycemic control helps to prevent the occurrence of diabetic complications and improves the prognosis of the disease. However, severe hypoglycemia can result when during tight glycemic control. An interprofessional collaboration can help to avert severe hypoglycemia and maintain the well-being of the patient.

References

Castle, J. R., DeVries, J. H., & Kovatchev, B. (2017). Future of automated insulin delivery systems. Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics, 19, S67–S72. https://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2017.0012

Löffler, C., Koudmani, C., Böhmer, F., Paschka, S. D., Höck, J., Drewelow, E., Stremme, M., Stahlhacke, B., & Altiner, A. (2017). Perceptions of interprofessional collaboration of general practitioners and community pharmacists – a qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2157-8

Loundou, A., Crémades, A., & Gentile, S. (2021). Comorbidity Profiles among Obese – Diabetic End-Stage Renal Disease Patients : Data from REIN Registry of PACA Region of France.

Meng, J. M., Cao, S. Y., Wei, X. L., Gan, R. Y., Wang, Y. F., Cai, S. X., Xu, X. Y., Zhang, P. Z., & Li, H. Bin. (2019). Effects and mechanisms of tea for the prevention and management of diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications: An updated review. Antioxidants, 8(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8060170

Ray, S., Lokken, J., Whyte, C., Baumann, A., & Oldani, M. (2020). The impact of a pharmacist-driven, collaborative practice on diabetes management in an Urban underserved population: a mixed-method assessment. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2019.1633289

Reeves, S., Pelone, F., Harrison, R., Goldman, J., & Zwarenstein, M. (2017). Interprofessional collaboration to improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000072.pub3

Szafran, O., Kennett, S. L., Bell, N. R., & Torti, J. M. I. (2019). Interprofessional collaboration in diabetes care: Perceptions of family physicians practicing in or not in a primary health care team. BMC Family Practice, 20(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-019-0932-9

Umanath, K., & Lewis, J. B. (2018). Update on Diabetic Nephropathy: Core Curriculum 2018. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 71(6), 884–895. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2017.10.026

Zie, G., Kerr, Z. Y., & Moore, J. B. (2020). Universal Healthcare in the United States of America : A Healthy Debate. 1–7.

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Develop a 4–6-page position about a specific healthcare issue as it relates to a target vulnerable population. Include an analysis of existing evidence and position papers to help support your position. Your analysis should also present and respond to one or more opposing viewpoints.

Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

Position papers are a method to evaluate the most current evidence and policies related to health care issues. They offer a way for researchers to explore the views of any number of organizations around a topic. This can help you to develop your own position and approach to care around a topic or issue.
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INSTRUCTIONS:

Scenario:
Pretend you are a member of an interprofessional team that is attempting to improve the quality of health care and the outcomes in a vulnerable population. For the first step in your team’s work, you have decided to conduct an analysis of current position papers that address the issue and population you are considering.

In your analysis, you will note the team’s initial views on the issue in the population as well as the views across a variety of relevant position papers. You have been tasked with finding the most current standard of care or evidenced-based practice and evaluating both the pros and cons of the issue. For the opposing viewpoints, it is important to discuss how the team could respond to encourage support. This paper will be presented to a committee of relevant stakeholders from your care setting and the community. If it receives enough support, you will be asked to create a new policy that could be enacted to improve the outcomes related to your chosen issue and target population.

The care setting, population, and healthcare issue that you use for this assessment will be used in the other assessments in this course. Consider your choice carefully.