Introduction
The rapid development of technology allows for enhancing the perception of health assessment. Medical personnel and patients can no longer rely solely on physical examination to monitor the state of health – the new digitalized means of analyzing personal data facilitate timely recognition of issues, providing detailed reporting. The essay will develop a patient scenario to educate a person on how to achieve a satisfaction health rate through mHealth.
Patient Scenario
The disease selected from the Healthy People 2030 is diabetes, which is a prevalent and threatening health condition, requiring ongoing management. The estimated amount of patients with diabetes in the United States is 30 million and rising, becoming the seventh leading cause of death (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Thus, the mHealth apps aiding in tracking the blood sugar level and other vital indicators for such patients is a sufficient way to sustain or better the condition of the person.
David is a 21-year old college student, balancing an internship in the law firm and his education. He was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago and could not yet adapt to all the stages of health maintenance. Due to the high workload, David frequently forgets to check his blood sugar or take insulin until the point of him nearly fainting. The patient wants to create and adhere to strict maintaining practices but lacks the reminders to check his health condition.
It is essential for the nurse to identify the diabetes stage and physiology of the patient to prioritize appropriate intervention. According to multiple research articles, poor glycemic control leads to a progression of diabetes and life-threatening complications, which the young man is facing (Trikkalinou et al., 2017). Among the learning needs, David will be required to read literature on how insufficient diabetes maintenance can worsen his condition, as well as attend health education classes to learn more about the disease. The student is highly interested in finding the strategies for timely identification of disease conditions, in case of increased workload, to keep the illness at its present state.
Patient Education/Teaching Plan
Identifying all aspects and details of disease management is vital to prevent the patient from any further mistakes and illness neglect cases. The first step of educating David would be providing him with reading materials regarding the stage of his disease and its correct management. Second, a young man will need to enroll in health education classes for diabetes patients to practically experience and learn specific management strategies, such as taking insulin or measuring sugar levels in the blood. As the student has a heavy workload, remembering to perform all necessary procedures is impossible, thus, he requires reminders, which a specific mHealth app can provide.
Description of the mHealth app
The mHealth app that will help David keep track of his disease is mySugr, which provides a complete overview of the person’s state of health and all the necessary information to manage diabetes. mySugr allows organizing all the relevant therapy data, and providing individual recommendations. The intended audience of the app is people with diabetes who want to simplify the daily struggles of therapy. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms, with basic and Pro plans, including Overview Progress Report, Estimated HbA1c, Multi-BGM Syncing, Blood Sugar Reminders, and many other features (Diabetes app, blood sugar, and carbs tracker, n.d.). The app will become a sufficient tool for David the maintenance of his condition, providing daily reports and reminders for him.
References
Diabetes app, blood sugar and carbs tracker. (n.d.). MySugr. Web.
Trikkalinou, A., Papazafiropoulou, A. K., & Melidonis, A. (2017). Type 2 diabetes and quality of life. World Journal of Diabetes, 8(4), 120-129. Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Diabetes – Healthy People 2030. Web.