Research Proposal: China Facing a Diabetes Crisis: Prevalence & Health Impact

Introduction

Diabetes refers to a syndrome of an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin, leading to hyperglycemia (Castro, 2014). Burant (2016) argued that diabetes had become a major public health issue that is associated with various devastating health conditions in China. Dunning (2018) further maintained that prevalence data show that about 10% of adults in China have diabetes, with the anticipation that the number might double by 2030 (Childs et al., 2019). The burden associated with diabetes on the economy of China, as well as its health care systems, is massive. Kinson and Nattrass (2016) argued that every one in four health care dollars is utilized to care for individuals with diabetes. The increased dominance of diabetes, as well as the associated costs, has made it one of the most public health concerns in China (Dunning, 2018). The main focus of this paper is to propose the best nursing management practices for diabetes patients in China.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Research Questions

• How can nurses help diabetes patients monitor their blood glucose levels?
• How does insulin help in controlling glucose levels for diabetes patients?
• What is the importance of physical activities for diabetes patients?

Research Objectives and Statement of Problems

• To examine how nurses can help diabetes patients to monitor their blood glucose levels.
• To examine how insulin helps in regulating glucose levels of diabetes patients.
• To investigate the importance of physical activities for diabetes patients.

The researcher will focus on meeting the above objectives as a way of addressing the research questions. Ultimately, the study will have succeeded in solving the main research problem; Research on nursing management of diabetes patients in China hospital.

Literature Review

Helping Diabetes Patients to Monitor their Blood Glucose Levels

Burant (2016) noted that patients need to be encouraged by nurses to undertake the monitoring of their own blood glucose levels where possible. In scenarios where patients require regular monitoring of their blood glucose levels, it is highly recommended that a community nurse uses the patient's own meter except if the patient is feeling more unwell than usual (Unger & Schwartz, 2015). Visanji (2016) claimed that in cases where the patient feels unwell, nurse uses the community team's Freestyle Neo meter along with Freestyle Optium test strips to determine a more accurate result. Moreover, McDowell and Gordon (2019) maintained that nurse should review, on an individual basis, the frequency of blood glucose monitoring in diabetes individuals approaching the terminal stage of the ailment process. Burant (2016) argued that numerous discussions should be conducted with the nursing teams and individuals to help assist the management all through the terminal stage. He further noted that advanced care planning should be undertaken for individuals approaching the terminal stage of the ailment process.

How Insulin Helps in Controlling Glucose Levels

Visanji (2016) defined insulin as a body hormone that is produced by the pancreases. It aids in regulating the movements of glucose into the cells from the blood. Insulin plays the role of lowering glucose levels in the blood by stimulating the uptake of the peripheral glucose mainly by the skeletal muscle fat and cells and by regulating the production of glucose as well as release by the liver (Watkins et al., 2016). Visanji (2016) further argued that insulin helps in inhibiting proteolysis, lipolysis, and gluconeogenesis. Besides, insulin boots the conversion of excess glucose into fats as well as boosting protein synthesis (Colberg, 2018). He further asserted that insulin used in the treatment of diabetes is not different from the hormones that are naturally produced. Diabetes patients are never sensitive to insulin and thus fail to generate sufficient insulin that results in diabetes symptoms (Unger & Schwartz, 2015). Burant (2016) noted that nurses could administer exogenous insulin on diabetes patients to help in boosting glucose uptake by the cells hence minimizing both the long and short term diabetes consequences.

Importance of Exercise to Diabetes Patients

Fung and Teicholz (2019) emphasize on the significance of exercise for patients with diabetes. He asserted that nurses should encourage patients to conduct regular exercises to help in controlling weight, lowering of blood pressure, lowering of the harmful triglycerides and LDL, raising healthy HDL cholesterol, strengthening of bones and muscles, reducing anxieties as well as boosting their general wellbeing (Visanji, 2016). For individuals with diabetes, engaging in regular exercises helps in lowering the glucose levels in their blood as well as boosting the sensitivity of their body to insulin, hence countering insulin resistance. Kinson and Nattrass (2016) noted that it should be the responsibility of nurses to educate the diabetes patients on the significance of regular exercise and, if possible, draft them an exercise schedule that they can adhere to.

Significance of the Study

The accomplishment of the study will have a considerable contribution to knowledge. The findings on the research problem and the subsequent analysis will provide enlighten to society in several ways. For one, the diabetes patients will be informed regarding the best practices concerning self-management of the pandemic. This can be considered in terms of the probable application in daily life care. Besides, Dunning (2018) argued that the knowledge gained will be valuable in understanding the interplay between nursing and diabetes patients based on how healthcare promotes the wellbeing of diabetes individuals. This will be important in understating various ways of managing diabetes in China.

Research Methodology

The research will use mixed approaches to help in summarizing evidence on awareness as well as diabetes management in China. A review of published articles will be conducted to help understand the best ways of managing diabetes patients (Nyumba et al., 2018). Furthermore, an in-depth interview will be conducted to help in obtaining recommendations as well as opinions of various individuals on ways of addressing the challenges associated with the care and management of patients with diabetes (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2017).

To gather sufficient data on the research topic, a systematic review will be conducted (Nyumba et al., 2018). A pilot search will be conducted on various libraries and databases for Chinese published articles on the subject matter. Moreover, policy documentation will be collected concerning diabetes management via local contacts.

Besides, the researcher will consider using the focus group and the participation of the participants as other possible research methods. A focus group will help the researcher to study the behaviors of various participants and thus makes decisions based on such behaviors (Nyumba et al., 2018). The researcher will also consider categorizing participants into two groups, one for the nursing staff and the other one for the diabetes patients. The groups will be given the same questionnaires, and their responses analyzed appropriately to evaluate the existence of any gap.

References

Burant, C. (2016). Medical management of type 2 diabetes. American Diabetes Association.

Castro, M. (2014). Mayo Clinic. Time Home Entertainment Inc.

Childs, B., Cypress, M., & Spollett, G. (2019). Complete nurse's guide to diabetes care. American Diabetes Association.

Colberg, S. (2018). Exercise and diabetes (3rd ed., p. 234).

Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Mudambi, R., Pedersen, T., & Piscitello, L. (2017). Research methodology in global strategy research. Global Strategy Journal, 7(3), 233-240. DOI: 10.1002/gsj.1164

Dunning, T. (2018). Care of people with diabetes (1st ed). Wiley Blackwell.

Fung, J., & Teicholz, N.(2019). The diabetes code (1st ed).

Guthrie, D. (2016). Minerva. BMJ, 325(7370), 978-978. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7370.978

Kinson, J., & Nattrass, M. (2016). Caring for the diabetic patient (1st ed., p. 256). Churchill Livingstone.

Knapik, M. (2015). The qualitative research interview: participants' responsive participation in knowledge-making. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(3), 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500308

McDowell, J., & Gordon, D. (2019). Diabetes (2nd ed., p. 273). Churchill Livingstone.

Nyumba, T., Wilson, K., Derrick, C., & Mukherjee, N. (2018). The use of focus group discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in conservation. Methods In Ecology And Evolution, 9(1), 20-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210x.12860

Unger, J., & Schwartz, Z. (2015). Diabetes management in primary care (p. 752). Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Visanji, V. (2016). Practical Management of Diabetes (2nd ed., p. 347). New York.

Watkins, P., Amiel, S., & Howell, S. (2016). Diabetes and Its Management, 6th Edition (1st ed., p. 324). John Wiley & Sons.