Diabetes Policy Implementation

Running head: DIABETES POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
DIABETES POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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DIABETES POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
Introduction:
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the blood glucose level of the body and
results in failing of different organs of the body of not controlled. Every day in the nation of
Australia, about 275 people in the nation develop diabetes, which increases their risks for organ
failures when not maintained. It has affected about 85% of the population making people to
suffer from poor quality lives. It had also resulted in huge health burden on the nation. It also
gives rise to many other health conditions that affect the quality of life of patients (Rosella et al.,
2016). Hence, policy needs to be developed to develop awareness and plan strategies by which
this disorder can be tackled successfully and a fitter nation can be achieved free from diabetes
disorders. This assignment is based on development of such a health policy on the recent health
concern of diabetes in nation of Australia.
Policy name:
Controlling the Diabetes Epidemic: Guidelines and Strategies for Action
Policy purpose:
Diabetes can be described as the chronic disorder that is mainly characterized by high
levels of glucose concentration in the blood. The blood sugar levels are mainly managed by the
insulin, which is a hormone, released from the cells of the pancreas. Diabetes can take place
when pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin as in case of type-1 diabetes or when the
body becomes resistant to insulin called the diabetes 2. The National Health survey conducted in
the nation of Australia had shown statistical data which states that it has become one of the
largest health burdens of the nation (Egede et al., 2015). About 1.2 million people who are aged
2 years or above accounting for about 5.1% of the population are diagnosed with the disorder. Of

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those who had reported being diagnosed with the disorder in the year 2014-2015, about 85% of
the people had been seen to be suffering from type-2 diabetes and 13.5% of the people had
reported with type-1 diabetes. Diabetes prevalence had shown that the rate of disorder gad
doubled between the year 1989-90 and 2004-2005. After being stabilized between the period of
2007-2008 and that of 2011-2012, the rate had increased from that of 4.45 to that of 5.1% in the
year 2014-2015. Moreover, type 2 diabetes is seen to be more pronounced in the aboriginal and
Torres Islanders with about 12.8% of the people aged 15 years and above showing that they
suffer from diabetes type-2. This data shows that diabetes has become an epidemic in the nation
with about 85% of the people being affected and hence health policy is important for the
development of awareness and proper infrastructure in the communities to tackle the situation.
Risk factors for diabetes:
Some of the risk factors for diabetes are obesity and overweight, age being above 45,
having family history of diabetes, belonging to tribes like aboriginals African American, Alaska
Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander
and others. Other risk factors are having high blood pressure, having high level of triglycerides
and low levels of HDL, being physically inactive and others. Others are having heart disorders,
depression, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and acanthosis nigricans.
Reasons for the need of controlling diabetes:
Present data shows that about 16400 Australian deaths in the year 2015 because of
diabetes had taken place and half of them accounting for about 55% of them were suffering from
type-2 diabetes. Death and hospitalization rates because of diabetes were seen to be twice as high
in the remote and the very remote areas as that in the major cities. There were about 1 million

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hospitalizations in the year 2015-2016. This was because of diabetes that can thereby show the
economic burden that the disorder might be resulting on the healthcare sector (Chiapperino et al.,
2016). Socioeconomic disadvantage was also found to be associated with higher incidence of
diabetes like hospitalization, death, poor quality life, absence from workplaces and schools and
others, which result in poor quality lives of the people of the nation. This shows how the disorder
is affecting the lives of the people that make it important for developing a policy to tackle the
situation successfully. Total annual cost impact of that of diabetes in the nation is estimated to be
around $14.6 billion that might affect the healthcare industry because of the huge burden of
impacts of diabetes.
Complications resulting from diabetes:
One of the most important complications of diabetes is blindness. Diabetes is considered
to be one of the leading causes of preventable disorder in the nation of Australia. Between 25%
and 35% of the people in the nation has reported of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic macula edema
is also reported among 15% of the people in the nation who had been already identified with
diabetes. The total indirect cost of the vision loss associated with diabetic macular edema in the
nation is estimated for about $2.07 billion per annum. This is more than $28,000 per person with
that of the diabetic macular edema.
Another important complication that also is seen to be associated with the disorder of
diabetes is amputation. There are more than 4400 amputations every year in the nation as the
result of diabetes. In the year 2005, more than 1000 people with that of diabetes died as the
result of foot ulcers and lower limb wounds, which accounted for about 8% of all the deaths
occurring because of diabetes. Every year, there are about 10000 hospitals admission in the