Impacts of Stigma on Diabetes - Paper Example

Introduction

The term Diabetes refers to a metabolic disease in which the levels of blood sugar are too high. The blood glucose is the primary source of energy in the metabolic system of the human body, and it comes from the food that people eat (Scott, Ness, & Koch, 2014).). According to National Statistics Report by CDC released on July 2017 notes that more than 100 million Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes. There are two types of Diabetes-the type one and type two. The report confirms that the rate of new diagnosis of diabetes is steady. Diabetes was the leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2015 according to the report. The disease, therefore, continues to represent a growing health problem. Stigma is a set of negative beliefs or marks of disapproval that society has for a specific group of people or a disease. Klandorf and Stark (2013) note that those who are affected by diabetes undergo forms of social stigma. This article looks into the impacts of stigma, health policies and family illness on diabetic experience.

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Impact of Stigma on Diabetes

There are people with diabetes who feel like having diabetes is a label. As a result, they feel judged and treated differently and unfairly as compared to those individuals who do not have diabetes. There are some cases where people with diabetes feel blamed by others for 'bringing diabetes on themselves.' There are also occasions where these people get unfair treatment because of having diabetes. They are also judged negatively in social situations because of their choices of food and medication self-care needs that include self-monitoring of their blood glucose levels and taking insulin injections (Devarajooh & Chinna 2017). Diabetes-related stigma has a significant adverse impact on aspects of the well-being of the diabetic person (Devarajooh & Chinna, 2017). It results in health outcomes for these people.

Diabetic stigma triggers a chain of reactions in the diabetic patients. It has a direct influence on how one feels about him/her and the responsive behavior. The stigma impacts the diabetes self-care and eventually the physical health. Diabetic stigma has a psychological stigma on the diabetic patient. Such includes embarrassments, low self-esteem/confidence, and guilt or self-blame, sadness, hopelessness, regret and sometimes stress (Devarajooh & Chinna, 2017). As a result, the individual may not want to socialize with others. It makes them unwilling to disclose their diabetic status to their friends, colleagues and sometimes the health professionals.

According to Lubkin and Larsen (2013), diabetic stigma results in the development of distrust to others. They develop poor self-care such as ignoring meals, not taking insulin and not monitoring the blood glucose. Diabetic stigma makes the diabetes patients develop health problems such as increased risk of long-term complications which can have adverse effects on the patient.

Forms of Stigma

Lubkin and Larsen (2013) assert that among the most common types of stigma faced includes the most perceived sense of responsibility. Many diabetic people feel that diabetes is a burden on the healthcare system. In this way, diabetes is a character flaw. These are the perceptions that make people feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed and isolated. Some people express frustrations that diabetes is a lifestyle choice and is not a big deal. Such stigma blames the diabetic patients for the cause of the disease, and it applies to all types of diabetes.

Barriers to Diabetic Experience

There are barriers to diabetes care. These barriers address issues that are related to the personal and health systems. Such restrictions include socio-economic status, availability of healthcare personnel, transportation, access to quality diabetic care, physician attitude towards treating diabetes among others. For instance, the low socio-economic status of the diabetic patients hinders access to quality medical care and other means to pay services such as insurance. Such people might lack the knowledge and skills to manage the disease on a daily basis. Since access and self-care are critical contributors to outcomes in patients diagnosed with diabetes, socio-economic mediators play a significant role in the processes. Also, rural residents find it hard to access chronic health care services as compared to the urban counterparts. An aspect of quality diabetes care is accessibility to quality healthcare specialists. Also, some physicians develop negative attitudes towards patients with diabetes. Since the condition requires close monitoring and medical adjustment to achieve treatment goals, the physician attitude acts as a barrier to adequate healthcare provision.

Family Caregiver Adjustments

Devarajooh and Chinna (2017) suggest that one of the most critical aspects of managing diabetes is self-care. Families, therefore play an essential role in helping a patient cope up with the condition. Families play a vital role in influencing the positive diabetes outcomes. A supporting family helps the patient monitor the blood sugar level, provides education and also helps in providing quality medical care. However, upon diagnosis of a member with diabetes, life changes for both the individual and the family. The families, therefore, have to adjust upon diagnosis with the condition.

The realization that a member of a family has diabetes, members may feel surprised, upset or overwhelmed. The family goes through stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Diabetes can place on the family a financial burden due to increased health payments and loss of income during the periods of illness.

The caregivers or families can adjust by encouraging emotional self-responsibility of the family members. It is mandatory for the families to take responsibility for the condition. Self-responsibility is achieved by repeatedly reminding the person to take medicine, and reminding the person that he is in charge of managing the state.

Families can also adjust by learning. Learning gives families the knowledge about the condition and how to help the person cope up. Through education, people learn the most efficient ways of coping with the state.

Families can also adjust by seeking help from trusted health professionals. Certified diabetes educators help families to come up with ways and plans to help them assist the member diagnosed with the condition. Such plans include setting alarms on phones to monitor blood sugar levels.

Policy Support

There is a challenge of living well with chronic illness such as diabetes among families, communities, workplaces, communities, and organizations. Some policies are critical to maintaining function and independence for those diagnosed with chronic ailments such as diabetes. Examples of such policies include The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the ADA Amendment Act of 2008 considered as national civil rights for people with disabilities. The policy goal is to prohibit any form of discrimination geared towards individuals with diabetes. The policy addresses the needs of diabetic individuals by securing employment opportunities for people with disabilities and chronic illness. The policy also limits situations where employers ask questions about an employee's medical condition. This policy not only serves people with chronic disease such as diabetes but also helps people with disabilities as well.

Conclusion

To conclude, it is essential to highlight strategies that individuals with diabetes can use to improve their health outcomes. Strategies for strengthening health help in curbing the diverse social stigmas associated with diabetes. These strategies assist in enhancing the emotional and physical well-being of the individual with diabetes. The first strategy to improve the quality of diabetes care is to practice sanctions that are patient-centered, whether evidence-based or expert based. These sanctions help in guiding an overall approach to medical care. Patients with diabetes have increased the risk of cardiovascular attacks. When a doctor uses patient-centered approach, it will decrease cardiovascular risk through addressing blood pressure control, smoking prevention, and weight management.

Another way to improve diabetic health is that medical practitioners should make timely treatment decisions based on evidence guidelines. Medical practitioners should tailor such decisions to the preferences of individual patients. There is also need to support the patients to change their behaviors and lifestyles. Behavior change involves making healthy lifestyle choices, disease self-management, and prevention of diabetic complications. Healthy lifestyle choices are essential and help diabetic patients to engage in physical activities, eat healthily, cease to engage in tobacco smoking and cope effectively. Disease self -management helps in taking and managing medications. As a result, the individual will be in a position to do a self-monitoring of glucose levels and their blood pressures. Behavior change also helps in monitoring foot health, active participation in screening for eyes, foot, renal complications among other complications. This paper has looked into details of the impact of social stigmas on individuals with diabetes. The article has also analyzed the barriers to the provision of good health and how families can adjust when one of them has a diabetic condition.

References

Devarajooh, C., & Chinna, K. (2017). Depression, distress and self-efficacy: The impact on diabetes self-care practices. Plos ONE, 12(3), 1-16. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175096.

Klandorf, H. P., & Stark, S. D. (2013). Diabetes mellitus. Magill'S Medical Guide (Online Edition), Research Starters, EBSCOhost (accessed May 26, 2018).

Lubkin, I.M., & Larsen, P.D. (2013). Chronic illness: Impact and intervention. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett. Read Frameworks and Models for Practice in Chapter 2, pp. 35-38 only and Models of Care in Chapter 19, pp. 514-519

Polinski, J. M., Smith, B. F., Curtis, B. H., Seeger, J. D., Choudhry, N. K., Connolly, J. G., & Shrank, W. H. (2013). Barriers to insulin progression among patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. The Diabetes Educator, 39(1), 53-65.

Scott, R. P., Ness, B. P., & Koch, M. R. (2014). Diabetes and genetics. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Health. Research Starters, EBSCOhost (accessed May 26, 2018). National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Symptoms and Causes of Diabetes. Retrieved 26 May 2018, https://www.niddk.nih.gov/healthinformation/diabetes/overview/symptoms-causes