Article Summary
The article interrogates the diabetes situation in the United States as a public health concern. Beckles and Chou (2016) analyze the diabetes situation by analyzing two periods. The first period is between 1992 and 2002, while the second period is between 2011 and 2014. The authors reckon that there have been significant changes in lifestyles and standards of living over the years. The working hypothesis is that these advancements made by humans have a role to play in influencing human susceptibility to such diseases.
Beckles and Chou (2016) expect that the study will indicate a significant change in diabetes cases that are in tandem with the social factors. The socioeconomic factors considered for the study are race, educational attainment, and income to poverty-ratio. They analyze these factors alongside the periods indicated and drew data from various databases. The results of the article eventually establish a positive correlation with the hypothesis provided at the start. Over the period, the races were all affected by diabetes, and their socioeconomic status also improved in a varied way.
Three Key Issues Discussed in the Study
Disparities in the races were prevalent in the study, and different races were affected variably by diabetes. Diabetes was most prevalent amongst African Americans, followed by Hispanics and eventually the White, non-Hispanic. This phenomenon was constant during the first and last periods of the study. The number of people infected by diabetes, however, gradually decreased as the numbers during the second period indicated. The non-uniform decrease in numbers was attributed to the variations in the socioeconomic status of various races.
Educational attainment was best achieved by the non-Hispanic White people compared to the other two races. African Americans were the least improved in terms of educational attainment, and this was reflected in the number of diabetes cases. The third key issue discussed in the article was the income-to-poverty ratio. The income-to-poverty ratio improved across the board for all the races but was best improved amongst non-Hispanic White. African Americans were the least improved in this regard too and this was attributed to their high diabetes cases.
Reasons Health Disparities Exist in Society
Health disparities exist in society due to the apparent differences in lifestyle and history of various people. Some diseases are caused by differences in how people lead their lives and a high number of these diseases are seen amongst those who lead the most unfavorable lifestyle. Places where people live and the kind of social amenities available to them is also a recurrent issue. African Americans mostly live in neighborhoods that are ridden with crime and insecurity. The quality of the air they breathe and the food they take is sometimes unhealthy.
Healthcare facilities such as hospitals and pharmacies are also deficient in some areas compared to others. The unavailability of these healthcare facilities ensures that the groups living in these areas cannot access healthcare in time to prevent the advancement of diseases. Health disparities also exist due to administrative failures that do not adequately focus on ensuring equality in healthcare is achieved. The history of mistrust and discrimination by some groups promotes mistrust of modern healthcare amongst previously oppressed groups.
Author Defined Limitations of the Study
The study focused on changes in diabetes prevalence over 9 years. The study was based on a previous report that made comparisons over five years. Beckles and Chou (2016) found that this period was too long. It may have been indicative of the population’s response to diabetes risk-reduction efforts instead of socioeconomic changes. The authors found that this feature may have made the eventual results of the study misleading. The findings were also self-reported and therefore subject to recall and social desirability bias. The diabetes reports could not be accurate as they would have been if a physician carried out the diagnosis. Additionally, the findings of the research did not indicate the prevalence of all diabetes. Beckles and Chou (2016) reckon that many diabetes cases are undiagnosed and that these results alienate these cases from the study. This renders the study inconclusive due to this crucial missing data.
Three Suggested Recommendations for a Case Manager
Achieving health equity should involve activities that target lifestyle changes. These include activities that target aspects such as fitness, obesity, and diet. Such activities are likely to be effective as they cut across the board and can be applied by all races and people from various socioeconomic classes. Interventions that target ensuring health equity and guaranteeing all groups are considered should focus on differences amongst these groups.
The races of the different groups being considered must be put into consideration, alongside their education and income status. Customizing solutions for different groups according to their needs ensures that none is left unattended. The evaluation of initiatives geared towards achieving health equity should be done across socioeconomic groups. This is essential in ensuring that goals are achieved and enables the tracking of the progress attained over the planned period. Such effective monitoring is likely to negate failure and ensure the identification of potential barriers to success.
Reference
Beckles, G. L., & Chou, C.-F. (2016). Disparities in the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes — United States, 1999–2002 and 2011–2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65(45), 1265–1269. Web.