Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest-growing acute medical conditions in Australia with the highest growth rate compared to other diseases. About 5.3% of the Australian population, approximately 1.1 million people above the age of eighteen are suffering from the disease (Koye et al., 2019).
The disease has significant impacts on Australian society both the economy and the society. In the economic domain, Australians spend slightly over $6 billion on the treatment of people suffering from type 2 diabetes (Koye et al., 2019). Further, society loses some human resources which is an essential factor of production. Type two diabetes further affects Australians by lowering their quality of life as the disease introduces anxiety and depressive symptoms which deprives people of their happiness in their day-to-day lives. It is further prudent to note that type two diabetes leads to other opportunistic diseases like cardiovascular diseases.
Aboriginals are the indigenous communities found in Australia who are medically underserved. The poor social determinants of health among the population make them prone to type 2 diabetes and the higher poverty levels make it challenging to alleviate or manage the disease (Straw, et al., 2019). Consequently, the most significant impact of the disease is the increased number of deaths among the population which puts their lives in jeopardy. Further, other opportunistic diseases are on the rise lowering the quality of life in the discourse.
The impacts have made numerous health promotional groups establish camps in the Aboriginal population in a quest to improve their quality of life. The prevalence of the disease therefore puts the aboriginals in the limelight and the people receive more attention.
References
Koye, D. N., Magliano, D. J., Reid, C. M., Pavkov, M. E., Chadban, S. J., McDonald, S. P., & Shaw, J. E. (2019). Trends in incidence of ESKD in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Australia, 2002-2013. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 73(3), 300-308.
Straw, S., Spry, E., Yanawana, L., Matsumoto, V., Cox, D., Cox, E., & Marley, J. V. (2019). Understanding lived experiences of Aboriginal people with type 2 diabetes living in remote Kimberley communities: diabetes, it don’t come and go, it stays!. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 25(5), 486-494.