Introduction:
The current report has focused on evaluating the impact of diabetes mellitus on the health condition of indigenous and non-indigenous people living in Australia. Diabetes mellitus defines the metabolic disease that leads to an increase in sugar level. Poor understanding of health has made indigenous people more vulnerable to diabetes in Australia. However, the sedentary lifestyle and possession of unhealthy possessed food have also increased the chances of diabetes among non-indigenous people living in the country. The current study aims at addressing the impact of diabetes on individual and community members of indigenous and non-indigenous people living in the country. Effectiveness of the health campaign done by the team members has also been mentioned in this context.
Significance of chosen health issue:
Geographical isolation has created a problem for aboriginal people to get fresh and healthy products that effect on their health condition. Possession of unhealthy food products has resulted in increased health issues like diabetes among these people. It is estimated that 39% of aboriginal people belonging to the age group of 55 years has diabetes due to their sedentary lifestyle in an isolated location(AIWS, 2015). Limited availability of advanced health treatment has created a problem to arrange an early diagnosis that creates an adverse impact on their health condition. On the other hand, an adaptation of westernised lifestyle has led 15% of young Aboriginal Islander people aged from 25-35 years to suffer from diabetes due to dietary changes in 2015. The rate of non-indigenous people diagnosed with diabetes mellitus is relatively less in comparison to the indigenous people. However, lack of physical activity has raised the issue of obesity among non-young population which results in raising health issue like diabetes. The genetic disorder is another factor that develops health issues like diabetes among non-indigenous people in Australia. It is observed that 13.5% of non-indigenous people have been diagnosed with diabetes in 2015(Paul, et al., 2017). Lack of intervention has created a problem in managing the health issue prevalent among the indigenous and non-indigenous people.
Impact of a health issue on individual, family and community of indigenous and non-indigenous people:
The health of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians have a stark difference, where it has been observed that generally, the non-indigenous people are whites, have a lesser tendency of suffering from diabetes, and have lesser mortality rates(Creamer & Attridge, 2016). The main difference in how diabetes mellitus affects two separate sections of the Australian population is given below:-
Indigenous Australians:
Individual:
Individuals from the indigenous population are at higher rates of suffering from diabetes mellitus because they are mostly living in remote areas of Australia, about 79% live in remote areas, and consume junk food on a regular basis(Statista, 2020).
Family:
Most of the family members of indigenous Australians have a medical history of diabetes; about 62.7% of the family members from the indigenous population have someone suffering from diabetes mellitus(Statista, 2020).
Community:
The community as a whole are more prone to have a sedentary lifestyle with greater consumption of fast food, which has a high concentration of fat, which leads to obesity and diabetes(Jaacks & Siegel, 2016). The community mainly belongs from an economically backward section of Australia, resulting in a greater amount of probability to suffer from diabetes mellitus.
Non-indigenous Australians:
Individual:
The individuals from the non-indigenous Australians like whites mainly belong to the middle-class Australians who spend most of the time in posh localities of the country(Kelly & Ismail, 2015). It has also been found that they mainly prefer having organic food, do regular exercise, which makes diabetes mellitus have a lesser impact on them.
Family:
The family history of the non-indigenous Australians is different, and they have less probability of being diabetic, which helps them be on the safe zone in terms of diabetes(Pérez-Escamilla & Damio, 2015). Also, it is found that only 27% of the families from the non-indigenous Australians are diabetic.
Community:
The community is mainly different because there is a presence of health consciousness in the non-indigenous community of Australia(Creamer & Attridge, 2016). Most of the people are regularly habituated to do physical exercise and walking every day as much as possible. Also, fast food and a sedentary lifestyle are avoided. The community avoids alcohol in parties and family gatherings unless absolutely essential, which decreases their chance to have diabetes mellitus to a huge extent.
Identifiable gaps between health issues of indigenous and non-indigenous people:
Health gaps, mainly concerning diabetes mellitus, is clearly visible among the indigenous and non-indigenous population of Australia. The indigenous population consist of the aborigines and the Torres Strait islander who inhabited Australia before the British took over the place. Since that time, they have faced neglect from the government, and the continuous struggle for their economic backwardness has made them have any food that they easily get(Creamer & Attridge, 2016). In modern Australia, the food that is easily found, and at a lower price are non-organic food with high calories and sugar. Most of the non-indigenous Australians don’t consume it due to their health consciousness. However, the indigenous Australians consume it, resulting in their chances of increasing diabetes mellitus associated with other problems like obesity.
The mortality rates of indigenous people are also higher than the non-indigenous people because the non-indigenous people are health conscious and do not follow a sedentary lifestyle(Jaacks & Siegel, 2016). Due to higher levels of employment, the non-indigenous Australians are regularly busy with their work. On the contrary, the indigenous Australians are facing the problems of sitting at home, and no exercise, which increases their chances of diabetes mellitus. The indigenous Australians have also been found to have lesser levels of awareness about diabetes mellitus and health consciousness. Unless there is an emergency, no indigenous members go for a regular check-up in the hospital units. Also, it has been found that the lack of diet control and exercise often results in increasing the probability of indigenous people towards diabetes mellitus.
Brief description of the campaign:
I along with my team members, will focus on arranging a poster campaign on healthy eating to promote the necessity of possessing fresh foods that are essential to protect the health condition of people.The guidance of team member helps to share an idea about the importance of appointing aboriginal instructor to draw the attention of individuals belonging from the aboriginal group(Jansen, 2017). The guidance of trainer regarding the adverse impact of unhealthy diet chart that leads to creating health problems like obesity, high-pressure benefits in making them aware of possessing healthy food items(Brzozowska, et al., 2019). I have also thought about promoting free check-up option during the time of healthy eating campaign for community members living in the aboriginal state. Sharing a proper diet plan after sharing informationabout the current health condition of these community memberswill be beneficial to make them aware of the necessity of participating in this campaign. In case of promoting the healthy eating campaign among the non-aboriginal people, I will focus on mentioning about the sedentary lifestyle that creates an adverse impact on the health condition of non-indigenous individuals. Through the campaign, a community awareness session will also be done to share importation about the healthy diet plan that needs to be possessed by the old age population. Sharing statistical information about the increasing issue of obesity caused due to unhealthy eating will benefit from attracting a large number of indigenous and non-indigenous people towards the healthy eating campaign.
Short description of the target audience and the reason behind selecting your target audience:
I have selected obese people belonging to the age group of 25-34 years living in a community near the Rossmoyne area of Perth, Australia, to progress with the healthy eating campaign. I have selected the young age population as they are leading a sedentary lifestyle which leads to creating health issues like obesity or high-pressure level. The valuable suggestion of health experts benefits in making them knowledgeable choices of food items that need to be considered by them to avoid health issue(Timpel, et al., 2019). The guidance of experienced healthcare professionals increases the chances of sharing proper information about the physical activities that need to be performedto reduce the issue of obesity.
Effectiveness of the campaign to deal with the issue:
Successful promotion of the healthy eating campaign will benefit in controlling the possession of unhealthy food products that results in developing health problems like cholesterol or diabetes mellitus. Sharing of valuable information about the benefit of availing fresh food items will assist in protecting the problem of diabetes among the aboriginal group of people. Promoting the healthy eating campaign in urban location has supported in addressing the importance of avoiding a sedentary lifestyle to prevent diabetes among non-aboriginal people. The campaign will also support in addressing the importance of regular check-up that is highly essential to diagnose the problem of diabetes in order to proceed with the treatment.
Conclusion:
The present study has detailed aboutthe impact of diabetes mellitus on the health condition of an aboriginal and non-aboriginal group of people. Considering the adverse impact of this health issue has influenced the importance of promoting healthy eating campaign that is essential to make people aware of the possessing fresh foot items to avoid health issue likeobesitywhichhelps in controlling the chances of diabetes.
References
AIWS, 2015. Diabetes. [Online] Available at: https:// www. aihw.gov.au/reports/diabetes/diabetes-compendium/contents/deaths-from-diabetes [Accessed 20 April 2020].
Brzozowska, M., Havula, E., Allen, R. & Cox, M., 2019. Genetics, adaptation to environmental changes and archaic admixture in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus in Indigenous Australians. Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, 20(3).
Creamer, J. & Attridge, M., 2016. Culturally appropriate health education for Type 2 diabetes in ethnic minority groups: an updated Cochrane Review of randomized controlled trials. Diabetic Medicine, 12(7), pp. 169-183, DOI: 10.1111/dme.12865.
Jaacks, L. & Siegel, K., 2016. Type 2 diabetes: A 21st century epidemic. Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 30(3), pp. 331-343, DOI: 10.1016/j.beem.2016.05.003.
Jansen, C., 2017. Developing persuasive health campaign messages. Information Design: Research and Practice, 24(2), pp. 669-684.
Kelly, S. & Ismail, M., 2015. Stress and type 2 diabetes: a review of how stress contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes. Annual review of public health, 15(6), pp. 441-462, DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122921.
Paul, C. et al., 2017. Testing for type 2 diabetes in Indigenous Australians: guideline recommendations and current practice. Medical Journal of Australia, 227(5), pp. 206-210.
Pérez-Escamilla, R. & Damio, G., 2015. Impact of a community health workers–led structured program on blood glucose control among Latinos with type 2 diabetes: the DIALBEST trial. Diabetes Care, 16(5), pp. 197-205, DOI: 10.2337/dc14-0327.
Statista, 2020. Diabetes in Australia – Statistics & Facts. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/3132/diabetes-in-Australia/[Accessed 4 April 2020].
Timpel, P. et al., 2019. What should governments be doing to prevent diabetes throughout the life course?. Diabetologia, 23(2), pp. 1-12.
Healthcare Report by Subject Academy
Let’s just stop stressing out and leave the work to the experts.
