Diabetes in the United States

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The United States is a collection of multicultural and diverse individuals and communities (Dreachlin, Gilbert, & Malone, 2013). People of all races, ethnicities, religions, and diversities, each with their own uniqueness, now comprise our health care system. However; in one way we are all the same.
Our bodies are all subject to disease.
Currently, Diabetes is our nation’s seventh leading cause of death.
Diabetes A Systems Approach
Because we are all physiologically the same there are factors that must be addressed in all Diabetics
• Diabetic Care Behaviors that require education and services:
• Healthy eating -Dietician
• Exercise – Gym, weight management, and achievement of goals
• Taking medication - medications in pill, injectable, liquid and other forms – nursing education / monitoring
• Glucose monitoring - managing blood glucose level and reactions - nurse education
• Healthy coping- May require mental health evaluation and treatment – mental health services
• Reducing risks- blood pressure monitoring, maintenance of personal care records, and regular eye, foot, and dental examinations – general practitioner, endocrinologists, cardiologist, opthomalogist, and dentist (Francis, 2007).
• Culturally Competent Care
What is our most powerful tool in providing culturally competent care?
Listening
Asking the right questions and assessing the answers based our cultural knowledge
Cultural competence does not assume that knowledge of a culture will provide all of the information necessary to provide individualized quality care. Cultural competence means knowing what issues are relevant to each culture and asking the right questions.
To Illustrate our point we have chosen three diabetic patients with diversity ...

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...ealth care services or assist him in acquiring a resource person will provide him with every opportunity for success in his treatment (Sokol-McKay, 2012)
Mr. Folkes’ need for cultural competence relates to his disability. His issues are dissimilar to the other two patients in that his diversity is related to his disability and not to his ethnicity or race. Disabled individuals are receiving better specialized care than in the past and often require multiple adjustments to their education and treatment plan to accommodate their disability.
In conclusion, cultural competence is especially relevant in the treatment of diabetes. Disease and symptom control in diabetes is interdependent on effective lifestyle management, which can only be realized when the health care provider understands, acknowledges, and responds to each individuals cultural and diversity needs.

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