Paper Example on Diabetes in African Americans

Introduction

According to the (American Diabetes Association, n.d.), there are 30.3 million Americans who are suffering from diabetes. The statistic reflected above means that the diabetic population makes up 9% of the American people. The prevalence of diabetes within the general population is a worrying trend that has raised concern about the health needs of the diabetic community. Of the five main ethnic/races that make up the American population, the non-Hispanic blacks are the second most affected group within the American community coming in second after the diabetic American Indians who make up 15.1% percent of the population (American Diabetes Association, n.d.).

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The diabetic population makes up 12.7% of the non-Hispanic blacks. However, regarding numbers, the percentages do not reflect the real situation on the ground because the African Americans make up the most significant portion of the minority groups in America. To help this population better take care of themselves, the healthcare practitioners concerned with the diabetic population such as the medical-surgical nurses need to teach them critical thinking. Accounting for the large numbers of the African Americans diabetic population, and their status in the society as a minority group, the diabetic African Americans need a unique teaching tool for critical thinking that is different from the ones used by other ethnic groups.

An analysis of the distribution of diabetes within the African American population will reveal that the rate of those affected increases with age. Data from (will2035, 2015) shows that diabetes is most prevalent within the African American population that has achieved the age of 65. The age group of 45 to 64 comes in second while those under the age of 45 make a very minimal portion of the population.

The African American diabetic population has essential health needs because of the following reasons. Despite suffering the least from diabetes, there are increased rates of diabetes mellitus within the African American population. Diabetes mellitus is brought about by the pancreas producing little insulin or when the body is unable to utilize the insulin produced during the process of metabolism. The high contraction rates of diabetes mellitus among the teen African Americans population is due to two main factors. The first factor is the fact that the African Americans have low access to decent healthcare. Most of them have a weak financial capability which prevents them from seeking better healthcare. The second factor is that the diet and lifestyle of the African Americans are not at per with the rest of the American society. Most African American families survive on junk foods that have a high amount of starch and sugar.

Still, while discussing the increased rates of diabetes mellitus within the teen African American population, it is essential to consider the unique learning challenges. The acquisition of knowledge is one of the skills required in critical thinking (Rubenfeld & Scheffer, 2015). The success of one as medical-surgical nurse highly depends on one's ability to implement the principles of critical thinking. The same applies to medical-surgical nursing patients such as the diabetic population. The medical-surgical nursing students need to equip the teen African American diabetic population with the learning tools that will enhance their critical thinking. The learning challenges faced by the teen African American population stems from various host of factors that are non-medical related. Elements such as inefficient education system in the country, and the economic inequalities within the American society.

For this discussion, this paper will develop a tool to help the diabetic African American teens with the learning process. Factoring issues such as readability, interest and attention span. The best tool for teaching diabetic African American teens about critical thinking is a Snapchat handle. A good percentage of the African American teens have access to a gadget such as a computer or a mobile phone. A good ratio of that number is active social media users especially Snapchat. For those that are not active, they can now find a good reason to be active Snapchat users.

The name for the Snapchat handle is YDAAP which stands for Young Diabetic African American Population. The primary objective of the Snapchat handle is to reach 7 million followers. The handle seeks to achieve these number not only by posting educative items about diabetes but ones which the African American teens can easily relate. Things such as GIFs and Memes are very trendy in the social media platforms. The Snapchat handle can use these items in a way that is funny but gets the teens to think about their life choices regarding health critically. For example, a GIF showing cool technological gadgets that are used to monitor and regulate blood sugar.

A study conducted by Perrin(2015) shows that 86 percent of African American teens are active Snapchat users. The survey by Perrin(2015) is evidence that Snapchat is the best avenue to reach the diabetic African American teens. The study by Perrin(2015) is parallel to the research conducted by (Chou et al., 2009). Chou established that the popularity of social media makes it a good avenue for healthcare communication in the United States. These two scholarly works are evidence that a Snapchat handle is the right tool for teaching critical thinking to the African Americans teens who are suffering from diabetes.

The tool is mainly meant to develop two attributes of critical thinking. The skill of information seeking and applying standards are the two primary attributes that the snap chat tool extends. The information available in the Snapchat handle will push the young African Americans to seek knowledge on more information regarding diabetes treatment further. On the other hand, the young teens will be able to judge situations according to the established social rules and criteria present on the Snapchat handle.

From a medical-surgical nursing perspective, the tool supplements the work of medical-surgical nurses efficiently. Instead of medical-surgical nurses teaching the basic principles of critical thinking, they get to concentrate on more advanced issues of African American teens healthcare. It becomes more comfortable for the medical-surgical nurses to teach their patients when they already have the necessary knowledge on diabetes.

References

American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Statistics About Diabetes. Retrieved from American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/

Chou, W. Y. S., Hunt, Y. M., Beckjord, E. B., Moser, R. P., & Hesse, B. W. (2009). Social media use in the United States: implications for health communication. Journal of medical Internet research, 11(4).

Perrin, A. (2015). Social media usage. Pew research center, 52-68.

Rubenfeld, M., & Scheffer, B. (2015). Assessing Critical Thinking. In M. Rubenfeld, & B. Scheffer, Critical Thinking TACTICS For Nurses: Achieving The IOM Competencies (2nd Edition ed., pp. 259-285). Burlington, Massachusetts, United States: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Retrieved September 1, 2018

will2035. (2015, May 29). W2 Reflection: Diabetes in African Americans. Retrieved from Intro to Medical Anthro: http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp204-us15/2015/05/29/w2-reflection-diabetes-in-african-americans/