Diabetes belongs to the most severe health issues prevailing all over the world. In the USA, this disease impacts millions of people annually. A particular risk group for diabetes is formed by African American females. The vulnerability is high among women of African American descent belonging to the age group of 35-50 years. The present paper aims to identify health promotion and disease prevention issues specific to the selected group and develop a plan of teaching for these females.
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Issues
To define the points related to the health promotion and disease prevention, research was performed in scholarly journals. Although it was impossible to find an article that would cover all three aspects of the selected group (age, sex, and race), several sources covering at least one of these characteristics were located. As a result, it is possible to establish the following issues related to promoting health and preventing diabetes in African American women aged 35-50:
- obesity is one of the most frequent health risks in middle-aged women that may lead to the development of diabetes (Fisher & Kridli, 2014);
- education provided by nurses is a crucial factor in promoting healthy behaviors of obese females (Fisher & Kridli, 2014);
- it is possible to prevent the development of diabetes if dietary challenges are overcome (Murrock, Taylor, & Marino, 2013);
- there are substantial barriers to African American females’ physical activity (Joseph, Ainsworth, Keller, & Dodgson, 2015);
- obstacles to physical activity among African American women exist at interpersonal, intrapersonal, or community level (Joseph et al., 2015);
- a serious complication of diabetes that should also be considered in the disease prevention process is hypertension (Fisher & Kridli, 2014);
- a self-management approach can eliminate the risks posed by diabetes to African American women (Rosal et al., 2014).
The Teaching Plan
Taking into consideration issues mentioned in the previous section, the plan of teaching for the selected group of patients should be comprehensive and diversified. Thus, the plan will contain a variety of solutions aimed at eliminating the development of diabetes and its complications. Also, the suggested design is expected to help prevent the disease. The following aspects should be included in the plan:
- teaching the target group how to keep a healthy diet (Fisher & Kridli, 2014; Murrock et al., 2013);
- creating a program aimed at engaging patients in physical exercising (Joseph et al., 2015);
- communicating with the target population both face-to-face and virtually to offer support and help (Rosal et al., 2014).
The information found in scholarly sources is not new. Health problems associated with diabetes, as well as risk issues, have been identified by physicians and scholars many years ago. However, the data mentioned in analyzed articles are relevant to the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) and Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC). In NIC, many aspects mentioned in the reviewed articles are included, including health education, exercise promotion, health system guidance, nutrition management, risk identification, and weight management (Bulechek, Butcher, Dochterman, & Wagner, 2013). Self-management strategies on diabetes mentioned in NOC are also associated with activities outlined in the teaching plan, such as the participation in exercising (Moorhead, Swanson, Johnson, & Maas, 2018). Also, NOC emphasizes the significance of maintaining the plan created by the physician or nurse (Moorhed et al., 2018).
Conclusion
Although diabetes is one of the most widely spread diseases in the world, not all patient groups are affected by it equally. The paper has discussed the need for diabetes education for African American women aged 35-50 years. The suggested teaching plan includes activities related to NIC and NOC standards. The implementation of the offered solutions is expected to improve the target group’s health and eliminate the development of complications.
References
Bulechek, G. M., Butcher, H. K., Dochterman, J. M., & Wagner, C. (Eds.). (2013). Nursing interventions classification (NIC) (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Fisher, K., & Kridli, S. A.-O. (2014). The role of motivation and self-efficacy on the practice of health promotion behaviours in the overweight and obese middle-aged African American women. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 20(3), 327-335.
Joseph, R. P., Ainsworth, B. E., Keller, C., & Dodgson, J. E. (2015). Barriers to physical activity among African American women: An integrative review of the literature. Women & Health, 55(6), 679-699.
Moorhead, S., Swanson, E., Johnson, M., & Maas, M. L. (Eds.). (2018). Nursing outcomes classification (NOC): Measurement of health outcomes (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Murrock, C. J., Taylor, E., & Marino, D. (2013). Dietary challenges of managing type 2 diabetes in African-American women. Women & Health, 53(2), 173-184.
Rosal, M. C., Heyden, R., Mejilla, R., Capelson, R., Chalmers, K. A., Rizzo, M., … Wiecha, J. M. (2014). A virtual world versus face-to-face intervention format to promote diabetes self-management among African American women: A pilot randomized clinical trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 3(4), e54.