In the state of Georgia, diabetes is considered to be one of the most chronic diseases and in 2006 was the 7th leading cause of death. The disease was associated with 19,459 emergency room visits and 15,593 hospitalizations. In 2008, one in seven Georgians ages 18 years and older were reported to be diagnosed with diabetes. That is equivalent to 707,000 adults or 10.1% of the population of adults residing in the state of Georgia.

I chose to look at diabetes because my father and paternal grandmother have both been diagnosed with diabetes. Also, with the program I work for, the individual must have specific diagnoses to qualify for the Medicaid waiver program. One of the diagnoses an individual must have is diabetes. An estimated 14% of the population in Dougherty County, Georgia are living with diabetes. Diabetes can cause major health issues such as heart disease and stroke, hight blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even death. It can also cause other complications such as kidney failure, leg and foot amputations, and kidney failure.

Georgia has the 19th highest adult obesity rate in the nation. Lifestyle counseling would prove to be beneficial to individuals with certain BMI’s. Education regarding lifestyle modifications would help decrease the rate of onset of diabetes in adults. Those diagnosed with diabetes should have annual foot exams and eye exams. One of the issues with this is access to health care. Not every individual has insurance or if they do have insurance, they are unable to pay for the co-pays or deductibles. Offering community health fairs to screen individuals for diabetes would assist in diagnosing those who are completely unaware they even have the disease. This would also allow everyone in the community the opportunity to have free or reduced screenings. Individuals who are diagnosed with diabetes need to be shown how to properly monitor their blood glucose levels. Many blood sugar readings are either too high or too low and patients do not know how to correct their issue or the patient does not contact their primary care physician to tell them the issue. The patients may not feel like it is important to inform their physician of glucose level issues. If not properly managed and more affordable health care available to patients, diabetes will continue to cause a trickle down effect causing more health problems and diagnoses and deaths.

Response Guidelines

For this you are to respond to the information above by taking on the role of a member of the community who has been affected by a health care issue which your peer chose to address. Describe your experience, and pose at least two questions about what your peer said as manager. The response has to have a minimum of 150 words no references needed because it is a response to a response statement.