Introduction
Diabetes Mellitus type 2 is a metabolic disorder associated with high blood glucose, insulin resistance and insulin deficiency, which results due to lack of enough insulin production in the body. 90% of people diagnosed with diabetes suffer from diabetes mellitus type 2 (Milchovich & Long, 2011).
The following factors have the possibility of increasing the risk of contracting diabetes mellitus type 2. For example, exessive weight due to increased persantage of fatty tissues in the body makes the cells become resistant to insulin. In addition, age is also a risk factor for diabetes type 2 especially as a person gets older, for instance, above 45 years. Another factor is a family history, especially where one’s parents or siblings have had a history of diabetes type 2.
Further, failure to do exercise makes one gain weight. Another factor is a race where blacks, Hispanics, American Indian and Asian Americans are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus than the whites are. Finally, pregnant women who have developed gestational diabetes are at a risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (Duckett, 2004).
Diabetes mellitus type 2 is more likely to occur to indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) children and adolescents living in remote areas as compared to their non-indigenous counterparts. These people have various challenges in terms of delivery of health care. This poses a great challenge in managing this type of diabetes in rural and remote areas (Venbrux, 1995).
In fact, in 2004/2005, the National Survey carried among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities reported diabetes among these people were at 6%. The Australian government has come with the following policies to respond to diabetes mellitus type 2, putting in mind the demographic, social and cultural needs of the indigenous communities (Byng, 2012).
Government Policies
Investments in diabetes research are done through the National Health and Medical Research Council. They have set up a special program grant that provides funds for carrying out research in collaboration with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This also helps to offer opportunities in international clinical trials (Willis, Reynolds & Keleher, 2012).
Offering appropriate funding and resources to manage diabetes mellitus type 2 is done through investment in improving maternal and child health care. Maternal nutrition is emphasized through encouragement of breast feeding and diagnosis, and treatment of gestational diabetes in pregnant women. In 2011-2012, the government released over US $300 million that was to be used to improve access to comprehensive health care services to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (Kim & Ferrara, 2010).
Consultation and engagement of the community should then be encouraged. This is achieved through making clinics adolescent friendly and offering a comprehensive health assessment to young people in order to prevent childhood obesity (Dzebisashvili, 2011). The community is actively engaged in working with indigenous health workers to help stop those who are in danger of contracting the disease especially the obese children and encouraging the measures preventing the disease, such as healthy eating. They also help in registering pregnant women who are at a high risk of contracting gestational diabetes (Rubin, 2010).
The government also offers support to people living with diabetes mellitus type 2 through making sure that people with diabetes have access to effective, up to date and strong means for managing and treating this disease (Dunning, 2006). The government through Pharmaceutical Benefits Schemes gives subsidized medicine and treatment to people living with diabetes.
Through the Medicare Benefits Scheme, the government supports diabetes’ management by giving a discount to patients,and allied health services (Kopple, 2013). Moreover, through the Quality Assurance for indigenous people program, the government supports the provision of cultural and clinically means of managing diabetes mellitus type 2 to these communities.
The government participates in monitoring diabetes through funding the National Center for Monitoring Diabetes and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Center that collects data on people who are using insulin to help in diabetes management (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002).
In addition, the government analyzes data from the National Diabetes Scheme that helps monitor trends in the prevalence of diabetes. It also supports the Australian Health Survey that collects data on diagnosed and un-diagnosed cases of diseases with an aim of providing accurate preference estimates that help in diabetes mellitus type 2 management (Rubin & Jarvis, 2008).
Conclusion
The government needs to attain success in managing diabetes barriers that limit proper management of diabetes mellitus type 2 among the indigenous children and adolescents living in rural areas. These barriers include food insecurity, limited resources that hinder lifestyle modifications, lack of infrastructure to store insulin, understaffing and high staff turnover that makes clinic staffs over worked.
This limits well-coordinated visits to attend to the patients and telecommunication facilities and makes essential resources unavailabile, for example, glycated hemoglobin testing in remote clinics. Despite all these challenges, the government has put commendable efforts in curbing and managing this first growing disease.
Reference List
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2002). Year book Australia. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Byng, K. (2012). Insulin pump use in Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Duckett, S.J. (2004). The Australian health care system. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Dunning, T. (2006). Complementary therapies and the management of diabetes and vascular disease: A matter of balance. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Dzebisashvili, T. (2011). SP4-11 Metabolic Profile Influence on HBA1C in diagnosing diabetes mellitus. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 65(1), 437-437.
Kim, C., & Ferrara, A. (2010). Gestational diabetes during and after pregnancy. New York: Springer.
Kopple, J.D. (2013). Nutritional management of renal disease. Amsterdam: Academic Press.
Milchovich, S.K., & Long, B. (2011). Diabetes mellitus a practical handbook. Chicago: Bull Publishers.
Rubin, A.L., & Jarvis, S. (2008). Diabetes for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Publishers.
Rubin, A.L. (2010). Prediabetes for dummies. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons Publishers.
Venbrux, E. (1995). A death in the Tiwi islands: Conflict, ritual, and social life in an Australian aboriginal community. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Willis, E., Reynolds, L., & Keleher, H. (2012). Understanding the Australian health care system. (2nd ed.) Sydney: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.