Managing Type 2 Diabetes in the Hispanic Community

Even though type 2 diabetes is one of the most infamous diseases, few other ethnicities suffer from it as much as the Hispanic community does. Whether it is a genetic predisposition or socioeconomic barriers that prevent Latino Americans from accessing healthcare, preventing diabetes is one of the most important health problems this community faces. To address this issue, it is crucial to examine the impact of Diabetes Type 2 on the Hispanic community using Healthy People 2030 objectives, laws, and the Advanced Nurse Professional’s role in implementing preventive interventions.

The Hispanic community is one of the ethnic groups of the US, which are disproportionately affected by diabetes. For every 1000 Americans, the Hispanic population has 7.1 new cases compared to 4.1 among white Americans, which necessitated this Healthy People 2030 objective: Reduce the number of diabetes cases diagnosed yearly — D‑01 (“Healthy People 2030 framework,” n.d.). The second Healthy People objective relevant to the Hispanic community is Increase the proportion of eligible people completing CDC-recognized type 2 diabetes prevention programs — D‑D01 (“Healthy people 2030 framework,” n.d.). The reasoning behind it is that a significant proportion of the Latino population is not aware of the diabetes type 2 preventive programs (Aguayo‐Mazzucato et al., 2019). As a result, disease illiteracy and a subsequent higher incidence rate are the primary effects of type 2 diabetes on the Hispanic community.

Two federal laws regulate preventive service and health promotion – the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Public Health Service Act (PHSA). The later one is a legislation providing financial incentives to programs and activities related to prevention and treatment of various diseases, including diabetes (Sekar & Heisler, 2019). Meanwhile, ACA was meant to improve access to insurance among Americans who struggle with income levels. Not only are insurance important because they make healthcare more affordable, but their absence also might prevent doctors from recommending diabetes screening (Huguet et al., 2018).

The subsequent objectives for ARNPs seeking to implement transformation innovations in regard to the incidence of diabetes type 2 in the Hispanic population are to increase disease awareness and to facilitate access to diabetes education. The relevant case scenario would involve a group of Hispanic Americans with weight issues who would start regularly measuring their glucose levels and spotting their anomalies in time to prevent the development of complications.

The second objective would require the ARNP to establish a connection between preventive programs and the Hispanic population. Similar to how Healthy People used the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to advocate for the increase in the number of people eligible for diabetes prevention programs, the ARNP could do the same (“Healthy people 2030 framework,” n.d.). The subsequent transformation intervention would be reaching out to healthcare providers. For example, it is possible to draw attention by accentuating the incentives provided by PHSA for preventive activities. Additionally, preventative services aimed at reducing the impact of Diabetes Type 2 in the Hispanic community include health screenings to assess blood sugar levels and risk for developing the condition, nutritional counseling, and lifestyle changes (Aguayo‐Mazzucato et al., 2019).

Other measures are the promotion of physical activity, medication management and monitoring, vaccinations for related complications, and management of associated chronic conditions such as hypertension. As an ARNP, my role in the Hispanic community would be to provide culturally competent care and to implement evidence-based interventions aimed at reducing the impact of Diabetes Type 2. This could include implementing lifestyle modification programs, medication management, and collaborative care with other healthcare providers to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.

It can be concluded that Latino patients are especially susceptible to diabetes complications, which necessitates additional measures directed at increasing disease awareness among the community. ACA and PHSA provide the legal basis for health promotion and disease prevention, which can be used to spread knowledge and connect the genetically predisposed population to healthcare providers. The role of the Advanced Nurse Professional is crucial in providing culturally competent care and implementing evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities in the Hispanic community.

References

Aguayo‐Mazzucato, C., Diaque, P., Hernandez, S., Rosas, S., Kostic, A., & Caballero, A. E. (2019). Understanding the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the Hispanic population living in the United States. Diabetes/metabolism Research and Reviews, 35(2), 1-40. Web.

Healthy people 2030 framework. (n.d.). Home of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Web.

Huguet, N., Springer, R., Marino, M., Angier, H., Hoopes, M., Holderness, H., & DeVoe, J. E. (2018). The impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion on visit rates for diabetes in safety net health centers. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(6), 905-916. Web.

Sekar, K., & Heisler, E. J. (2019). Congress faces calls to extend funding for special diabetes programs. Congressional Research Service. Web.