Essay Sample on Diabetic Incidences in Schools

Background and Compliance Requirements

The 2016 report by the American Association of Diabetes Educators reminds the schools of the compliance requirements to be implemented in a school setting. According to the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the Federal laws aiming at protecting children living with diabetes recognize the disease as a type of disability and therefore provides the schools with extra responsibility to protect diabetic children from all forms of discrimination (American Association of Diabetes Educators 3). All schools that receive any federal funding are mandated to come up with procedures aimed at accommodating the unique needs of children living with diabetes. Federal law requires the schools to develop individualized and written plans for students living with diabetes. Importantly, the federal law requires that the school management should provide for the needs of the children living without interrupting the child and the school routine and with the aim of allowing the student to participate fully in the school activities.

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Introduction

The rate for diabetic incidences in schools is on the rise owing to the sedentary lifestyle in learning institutions where students spend most of the time sited in lecture rooms. I am convinced that schools might have to provide standing desks for students to take classes while standing with the aim of increasing time for physical exercise and curbing obesity which is a crucial cause of diabetes among young children. In this essay, I set out to advocate for a comprehensive framework to deal will the sedentary lifestyle at school by ensuring that diabetic students can participate in games and school-sponsored activities including trips that involve some physical activity. I have identified that schools have to ensure that they can provide for the medical needs of diabetic students while on trips that might include having a school nurse, training on unlicensed school staff, having diabetic monitoring plans and emergency programs. The schools have to be concerned with monitoring the students' glucose levels before they engage in physical activities. Also, the school nurse has to collaborate with the parents in identifying the qualified individual to accompany the diabetic students during the school extra curriculum activities. Whether during the school days, in the field or during school extra curriculum activities the school have to ensure that diabetic students eat healthily. Importantly, all the health plans towards achieving better health outcomes for diabetic students including the physical activities should meet the guidelines set out in the in the individualised nursing plans for diabetic students.

The schools have to develop written plans aiming at diabetes management. Schools have to set out policies and objectives to reduce diabetic prevalence from the recognition that children spend a lot of their time in school and measures at the school level would reduce incidences of diabetes. The written plans would include the inclusion of more time for physical activities and after every lesson for students to perform exercises and press ups. In the same regard, the school would have to borrow ideas from the Medical Management Plan for diabetic students that outline the compliance orders regarding the significant elements of student routine, the student self-management requirements and the situations where emergency care is necessary (American Association of Diabetes Educators). The school management team has to develop measures to attend to the individualized wants of diabetic pupils by referring to the Individual Education Program, a vital document providing guidelines for treating the disabilities caused by the diabetic condition. Regarding the Individual Education Program, some of the diabetic students may require more time for physical activities than others meaning that they may be allowed to skip classes and use the time in physical activities because their health is of primary importance.

The government should take an active role in passing regulations requiring the schools to have written plans for the management of diabetes in schools. Schools are aware of ethical obligations in preventing students from developing lifestyle diseases, but they rarely give it the required recognition unless the same becomes a legal requirement. Some of the states instruct the schools' nurses to develop a health care plan for each student (American Association of Diabetes Educators 4). The same rules should be extended for all public schools in all states. The government should also participate in auditing the adherence of the schools to the same requirements. An Individual Health Care Plan communicates the health needs of each student and the management strategies to be implemented at the school facility level.

Schools have to work towards the attainment of the goals of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. The 2016- 2018 Strategic Plan by the American Association of Diabetes Educators provides the guiding principles of any framework aimed at meeting the physical and medical needs of diabetic individuals (American Association of Diabetes Educators 3). The guidelines are outlined in figure 1 and they include that the diabetic individual is at the center of the diabetic response team, the diabetes educator is a crucial member of the group, evidence-based practice in responses, effective disease prevention and enhancement of the self-management capacity by the diabetic individual through support and education. By following the guidelines by the American Association of Diabetes Educators the school management team will aim at being at the forefront in leading the development of resources and innovative education. The school staff will focus on physical exercises as a means to reduce the cost associated with diabetes management. The diabetic response team at the school level should work to ensuring diversity in access and commitment to the future by designing, evaluating and building upon technology related opportunities to improve health outcomes.

Figure 1: American Association of Diabetes Educators. Management of Children with Diabetes in the School Setting. 2016, p.3

Schools should work towards ensuring healthy eating during physical exercises and other extra curriculum activities. The snaking approach would be vital to ensuring that diabetic students meet the required calorie intake with the inclusion of more physical activities that would lead to the consumption of energy at a higher than the standard rate. The school management should work in acknowledgment of the individualized food plan for each student that follows the nutritional principles intended to guide the provision of dietary needs for the diabetic individuals and carbohydrate counting. Research confirms the association between diabetes and disordered eating specifically among the adolescents (Wagnoo et al. 4). The kinds of the identified disorders include insulin purging bulimia and binge eating. With the help of the diabetic educators, the schools would appreciate the importance of healthy eating, and they would also manage to implement an appropriate meal planning method that taking into consideration the required calorie and carbohydrate intake.

The schools have to design emergency management plans and protocols. The Diabetes Medical Management Plan orders require the school nurses to develop emergency plans for the students living with diabetes. The authors of the article on the Barriers to Diabetes Management: An Indian Perspective identifies a gap between the recognition that there is a need to control insulin levels and taking actions in the same regard (Wagnoo et al. 4). Vitally, the emergency plan should outline the requirements to identify and respond to situations involving hypoglycaemia, a condition of low blood glucose that may lead to death. Emergency treatment would necessitate schools to store amounts of glucagon or other versions of quick acting sugars. Importantly, the schools have to ensure that fast acting sugars are accessible to all teachers since any unlicensed staff may have to respond in the case of an emergency. Emergency plans should outline the signs and symptoms that demand an immediate response, the contact information for critical hospitals that might be vital in the case of an emergency and the procedures to be used in the school compound to inform the nurse of the rising cases of emergency.

The schools have to support the training of school staff who may respond in the case of an emergency during field trips and while students are engaging in physical activities in the field or indoor exercises in the classroom. The registered nurse is the leader of the school health team, and smooth procedures should exist allowing the delegation of nursing related tasks. Commissioning involves authorizing an unlicensed person to perform actions that are designated to be completed by a registered nurse. The school nurse might be unavailable to provide care to diabetic students while on field trips and other school activities. The Annotated Code of Maryland requires the school principal in cooperation with the school health services to identify the school personnel to receive training and to become equipped with the ability to provide the necessary facilities for the students with special needs including the diabetic students (Maryland State Department of Education 25). The unlicensed school personnel come from the school administrators, coaches, athletic trainers, and teachers. Unlicensed school staff might perform a variety of diabetic care duties including blood glucose monitoring. It is the responsibility of the school management to ensure that unlicensed nurses are training to remain compliant with the federal laws requiring the school to be accountable in meeting the student needs.

The teachers have to ensure that students remain active as part of the diabetic treatment plan. Teachers should build upon teaching methods that promote involvement in physical activities. Science teachers, for instance, should utilize the practical teaching approach that will ensure that students are involved in the movement, standing and physical energy to perform practicals in the laboratory. Also, teachers should utilize a method incorporating learning, and physical education by holding some of the lessons outside in the field. Schools have an additional role in ensuring that diabetic students get an equal chance like the healthy students to engage in physical activities. For the successful involvement of the diabetic students in physical activities, the schools have to put in place measures to ensure emergency response for the unforeseen cases of emergency that may arise while students are in the field (Maryland State Department of Education 25). The emergency measures related to physical exercises may include supporting the students to carry and to maintain their snacks in the physical activity locations and athletic fields.

The schools should ensure that students are accorded medical assistance while on field trips and other school-sponsored activities. The federal law requires the students with special needs to have equal access to educational opportunities as health students, and the school administration should avoid any discrimination towards students living with disabilities owing to the extra care requirements (Maryland State Department of Education 25). The staff with the responsibility to plan school activities have the responsibility to write to the school nurse informing him or her about the date and time of the school trip and the number of the individual students involved so that the school nurse may decide whether to remain in school or to attend the...