Paper Sample on The Proposed Plan for Diabetes Self-Management

Introduction

Diabetic patients living in rural areas are the most affected by limited access to healthcare (Lepard et al., 2015). Therefore, diabetes needs to be managed effectively and appropriately to reduce its complications. This paper develops a Diabetes Self-Management Plan that will benefit such patients. The program seeks to improve self-care among diabetic patients.

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Behavioral change therapy intervention will be used to promote self-management (Wagner, 2011). The intervention will seek to modify the lifestyles of diabetic people. The plan will cover areas such as promoting healthy eating diets, improving participation in physical activity, stress management, and enhancing the patients' adaption to the daily routines.

Reducing the complications arising from the lack of self-management, the need for healthcare or utilization of healthcare resources among diabetic patients will reduce. In return, this will lower the cost of accessing and offering care. Adapting to the daily management of the condition will also enhance the safety of patients. It will be achieved through education and consistent practice on how to administer drugs and adhere to therapy.

The collaborators involved in the implementation of the plan include family members, community and healthcare social workers, healthcare educators, local hospitals, and the government. The government will provide funding for the program. For the implementation of the plan, family members will assist in monitoring the patients. The care providers will collaborate inter-professionally to ensure that quality and safety of care is enhanced. The local hospitals will be used to organize health campaigns while the social workers will assess the patients' needs and assist in the administration of the intervention. Healthcare educators will provide education on the importance and use of self-management programs.

Technology that Supports the Proposed Plan

Technology has significantly been integrated into the diabetes self-management support systems and attaining A1c (Greenwood et al., 2017). Telemedicine technology can be useful in diabetes self-management support as it fosters quality decisions by patients and healthcare providers (Klonoff, 2009). Klonoff (2009) asserts that telemedicine technology can help attain individualized treatment objectives by training diabetic patients to oversee their ailment and providing access to electronic decision support models managed by qualified physicians. McLendon et al. (2019) assert that telehealth technology aids in specialty consultations and diabetes self-management awareness, especially for patients residing in rural areas, which constitute 19.3% of the US population. These authors provide evidence-based support from the literature about telehealth and its impact on diabetes self-management practices.

According to Scott Kruse et al. (2018), telehealth implementation faces various challenges such as a computer or eHealth literacy among patients. Moreover, acquiring appropriate equipment for the telehealth technology and lack of exposure to and training in prevailing technologies (Scott Kruse et al., 2018). Weigel et al. (2020) posit that telehealth technology faces legal barriers such as clinicians facing restrictions on online drug prescriptions if a pre-existing association with patients is not available. Therefore, many states and hospitals are availing emergency orders to prohibit in-person standards before participation in telehealth.

According to Gao et al. (2017), telehealth adoption has significantly discriminated against the elderly and illiterate population who have little or no knowledge concerning telehealth technology. Lee et al. (2019) assert that telehealth limits understanding of some integral factors associated with diabetes, compared to face-to-face therapy sessions.

Government and Organizational Policies Impact on the Proposed Plan

Various government policies such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Act (ACA) and Medicaid policies significantly establish a framework that nurses can use when planning care for diabetic patients. Pearson (2013) highlights how ACA enables digital technologies such as telehealth and plans that nurses can use to ensure positive patient outcomes. According to NYU Langone Hospitals (2020), Medicaid policies significantly minimized telehealth coverage restrictions during this coronavirus, thus enabling nurses to communicate effectively online with their patients. These policies have effectively attained positive patient outcomes, especially for rural diabetic patients who cannot book an appointment with physicians during this pandemic period.

According to Salmond and Echevarria (2017), nurses play an integral role in shaping government and organizational policies concerning health intervention plans. Nurses' roles have evolved, with nurses taking a central part in advocating and educating on policies. Therefore, a nurse can recommend suitable implementation plans and offer reforms that can enhance positive patient outcomes.

Communication Strategies

The stakeholders in this program include all the collaborators identified in this plan. The communication strategies will involve creating a shared agenda. The strategy will allow the stakeholders to discuss the essential areas that need attention to enhance self-care management. A needs assessment will also allow the physicians to inform and gather important information from the patients and their families. Also, the patient's readiness to change their behaviors will be assessed. The factors to be evaluated include self-efficacy, the level of blood sugar, and health-related behaviors. Setting goals of self-management will also serve as a crucial communication strategy (Wagner, 2011). The set goals must follow the SMART objectives to ensure the appropriateness and effectiveness of the program. Finally, the patient's understanding of the program will be assessed and evaluated.

The input of stakeholders in implementing the plan is very crucial. Involving all of them will help avoid the common challenge of divided interests. In the provision of healthcare services, providers differ on many things, including the mode of delivering care and sharing responsibilities. This plan will accommodate the views of all the stakeholders to avoid conflict of interest. The best effective communication practice will involve keeping the stakeholders informed about the program's progress (Etherington et al., 2019).

References

Etherington, N., Wu, M., Cheng-Boivin, O., Larrigan, S., & Boet, S. (2019). Interprofessional communication in the operating room: a narrative review to advance research and practice. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie, 66(10), 1251-1260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-019-01413-9

Gao, C., Zhou, L., Liu, Z., Wang, H., & Bowers, B. (2017). Mobile application for diabetes self-management in China: Do they fit for older adults? International journal of medical informatics, 101, 68-74. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5418079/

Greenwood, D. A., Gee, P. M., Fatkin, K. J., & Peeples, M. (2017). A systematic review of reviews evaluating technology-enabled diabetes self-management education and support. Journal of diabetes science and technology, 11(5), 1015-1027.

Klonoff, D. C. (2009). Using telemedicine to improve outcomes in diabetes—an emerging technology. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 3(4), 624-628.

Lee, J. Y., Chan, C. K. Y., Chua, S. S., Paraidathathu, T., Lee, K. K. C., San San Tan, C., ... & Lee, S. W. H. (2019). Using telemedicine to support care for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative analysis of patients’ perspectives. BMJ open, 9(10), e026575.

Lepard, M. G., Joseph, A. L., Agne, A. A., & Cherrington, A. L. (2015). Diabetes self-management interventions for adults with type 2 diabetes living in rural areas: a systematic literature review. Current diabetes reports, 15(6), 37. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5373659/

McLendon, S. F., Wood, F. G., & Stanley, N. (2019). Enhancing diabetes care through care coordination, telemedicine, and education: Evaluation of a rural pilot program. Public Health Nursing, 36(3), 310-320.

NYU Langone Hospitals. (2020, September 21). COVID-19 Brings Telemedicine to the Fore in Diabetes Management. NYU Langone News. https://nyulangone.org/news/covid-19-brings-telemedicine-fore-diabetes-management

Pearson, T. L. (2013). Telehealth: aiding navigation through the perfect storm of diabetes care in the era of health care reform. Diabetes Spectrum, 26(4), 221-225. https://doi.org/10.2337/diaspect.26.4.221

Salmond, S. W., & Echevarria, M. (2017). Healthcare transformation and changing roles for nursing. Orthopedic nursing, 36(1), 12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5266427/

Scott Kruse, C., Karem, P., Shifflett, K., Vegi, L., Ravi, K., & Brooks, M. (2018). Evaluating barriers to adopting telemedicine worldwide: A systematic review. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 24(1), 4-12.

Wagner, J. (2011). Behavioral interventions to promote diabetes self-management. Diabetes Spectrum, 24(2), 61-62. https://doi.org/10.2337/diaspect.24.2.61

Weigel, G., Ramaswamy, A., Salganicoff, A., Sobel, L., Cubanski, J., & Freed, M. (2020, May 11). Opportunities and Barriers for Telemedicine in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Emergency and Beyond. KFF. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/opportunities-and-barriers-for-telemedicine-in-the-u-s-during-the-covid-19-emergency-and-beyond/