Diabetes as a National Health Priority in Singapore

Running head: HEALTH CARE
Health care
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Author’s note

1HEALTH CARE
Diabetes mellitus, cancer control, asthma, cardiovascular health are few examples of
issues that have found attention in national health priority area initiative. Recognition of these
issues paves the pathway to reduce the burden of disease and open continuum of care from
prevention to disease management. This essay focuses on the national health priority of diabetes
in Singapore and diabetes has become a national health priority because of the increase in
diagnosis of diabetes in Singapore and the high rate of medical cost due to the issue. The essay
gives an insight into credible research evidences to justify why diabetes needs to be controlled.
The position of the chosen national health priority is also illustrated using the frameworks of
well-being and the essay also discusses the fundamentals of health promotion that address this
priority area.
Diabetes is a national health priority in Singapore and the main rational behind this is the
rise in the number of people with diabetes in the region. Diabetes is a clinical condition that is
associated with insufficient production of insulin, a hormone that balances blood sugar level thus
resulting in high blood glucose level and risk of damage to tiny blood vessels in the heart, eyes
and kidney (Skyler et al., 2017). The people who are getting older and ethnic groups like Asians,
American Asians and Pacific islanders are at more risk of developing diabetes. Kirkman et al.
(2012) reports that ageing of the population is the major driver of the diabetes epidemic and
diabetes in older people is linked to high mortality rate, high rate of hospitalization and reduces
functional status. Type 2 diabetes is a condition that is highly prevalent in Asia and about 4, 40,
000 Singaporeans were diagnosed with diabetes in 2014. This implies that diabetes account for
10% of disease burden in Singapore. It is also estimated that the number of people diagnosed
with diabetes is likely to increase to 1 million by 2050. Diabetes is also the reason for high rate
of hospitalization and increases medical expense. This in turn translates to loss in productivity

2HEALTH CARE
and increased medical expense too (Health Hub, 2018). Hence, the above mentioned statistics
explains why diabetes has become a national health priority in Singapore.
There are many credible research evidences that illustrates why the Singapore
government must regard diabetes as a national health priority and take action against it. The
research by Phan et al. (2014) explains that Singapore is a region with high risk of diabetes as
three major ethnic populations like East Asians, South East Asians and South Asians resides in
the country. These groups have experienced significant changes in lifestyle, diet and
environment thus indicating the reason behind increase in prevalence of type 2 diabetes since the
1980s. Unless urgent action is taken to control the diabetes epidemic, it can turn out to be the
most competing health issues for the aging population in the region. The most recent statistics for
the year 2017 shows that 606, 000 people had diabetes and the prevalence rate in adult was
13.7% (International Diabetes Federation, 2018). People between the age of 18 and 69 mostly
experience glucose intolerance in Singapore and women were found to be at higher risk than
males. The advantage of prioritizing diabetes as a national health issues is that it would lead to
active surveillance and screening of the disorder and early detection of the disease. This stage
would help to screen high risk ethnic group and detect the disorder in asymptomatic individuals
too (Ong, 2017). Prioritizing diabetes as national health issue will help in the implementation of
intervention at the population level and in high risk groups. This would also help in collaboration
with relevant agencies and Health Promotion Board, who would play a role influencing lifestyle
and active of high risk groups.
The National Health priority is framed to engage in a collaborative effort to curb or
control disease in target region. To achieve the goal of a healthy population in Singapore, the
most vital activity is to identify the specific target group who are influenced by diabetes. In