Health Disparities Diabetes 

Health Disparities Diabetes

You must also respond to one of your classmates’ posts prior to Saturday night at 11:59 pm. For follow up posts, you want to add something new to what was already posted (find a case study on the topic and summarize the findings, find a research study and share the statistical findings with the class. Provide a real world example of the topic to the class, etc). The post should be at least 250 words.

• What is meant by “healthcare disparity“? Describe a healthcare disparity in your community associated with patients who have special healthcare needs. Find a resource that is focused on mitigating or eliminating that disparity. Provide a brief description of the resource. How would you improve resources?

Health Disparities Diabetes

Healthcare disparities or inequalities are the differences in health that are avoidable and unjust (Shi 251). Populations that suffer health disparities are often referred to as vulnerable populations or America’s underclass. Individuals in vulnerable populations are more likely to experience poor health conditions, as well as poor psychological and social health. Some of the reasons for vulnerable populations can include differences in social, economic. And health conditions. Some of the basic characteristics of vulnerable populations include race, gender, urban vs rural, and illnesses. These are the most common causes of healthcare disparities in the United States. In Atlanta, one disparity I want to focus on is diabetes between African-Americans and whites.

In the city of Atlanta, African-Americans make up more than half of the population. However, one study showed that black people have a higher diabetes mortality rate, 31.22 per 100,000, than white people, 15.38 per 100,000 (Rosenstock 876). The cause of this disparity is more on a national level than a city level because overall in the United States and the state of Georgia, blacks are more likely to be diagnosed and possibly die from diabetes as compared to white people.

Health Disparities Diabetes

One of the possible causes is a lack of access to preventative care due to financial reasons. A second reason can be the misspending of funds. It’s estimated that Atlanta spends $11 billion a year on healthcare, but it gets used to help people who have to go to emergency rooms because they can’t see a primary doctor or seek treatment (Anderson 2018). Luckily, there are resources to help with this disparity.

One program, in particular, I’d like to focus on is the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program (DDP). This program was created in 2010 and its main goal is to deliver lifestyle changes at an affordable rate to people who are at risk or developed prediabetes. In the state of Georgia, it’s estimated that 217,000 people know they have diabetes, while 108,000 might not be aware they have it. This program encourages diet and physical life changes that can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 58%. It also allows those in vulnerable populations to join at a reduced price. The only way I can see improving this program would be to increase funding so the program can spread out to all of Georgia.

References

Anderson, V. (2018, April 4). Atlanta struggles to FULFILL Mlk’s legacy in health care. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/04/599253766/atlanta-struggles-to-fulfill-mlks-legacy-in-health-care.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, April 15). Addressing Health Disparities in Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/disparities.html.

Diabetes. Georgia Department of Community Health. (n.d.). https://dch.georgia.gov/diabetes#:~:text=Diabetes%20is%20nearly%20twice%20as,of%20diabetes%20in%20the%20world.

Rosenstock, S., Whitman, S., West, J. F., & Balkin, M. (2014). Racial disparities in diabetes mortality in the 50 most populous US cities. Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 91(5), 873–885. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-013-9861-4

Shi, L. (2018). Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284174144/