Health Education for Canadian First Nation Older Cohorts: A Program to Prevent and Manage Diabetes

Running head: HEALTH EDUCATION
HEALTH EDUCATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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HEALTH EDUCATION
1. Choose a target population (be specific- e.g. women of childbearing age currently residing in
Nunavut) and according to evidence, identify and describe three major and independent public health
and/or occupational health issues that this population is currently facing. Use appropriate data and
references (7 points)
The target population chosen for health education program is the Canadian first nation older
cohorts who are of the age 55 and above. The first healthcare issue that is found in prevalence among the
older cohort of this ethnicity is diabetes. Studies are of the opinion that about 40% of the older population
of this population is suffering from this condition. About 57% of the older citizens have stated that they
cannot adhere to the self-care plans due to the high costs involved. Besides, inability to manage the
financial burden faced by the older cohort of the Canadian first nation communities; they are also seen to
have poor health literacy (Spurr et al., 2018). These contributing factors result them in suffering from
diabetes. The third disorder that is also seen to be quite high among the Canadian first nation
communities are the cardiovascular disorders and the older cohort is seen to remain more vulnerable to be
affected by this chronic disorder. A number of risk factors make the older citizens of the aboriginal
community more vulnerable to the development of the heart disorders are raised or altered levels of blood
cholesterol, high blood pressure as well as diabetes. Other important risk factors are the smoking, being
overweight or obese, being inactive, excessive alcohol and excessive stress. The main determinants of
poor health of the older cohort is their inability to access healthcare services, poor culturally incompetent
healthcare services, lack of health literacy, low levels of education and poor employment conditions
(Leung, 2016). Another important healthcare issue also faced by the older people of the Canadian first
nation in the region is cancer. It has been found that about 6859 cancers had been reported among the
194392 Canadian first nation people. About half of these cancer prevalence were diagnosed in males
accounting for about 3152 cancer cases in 99455 males and also half in females accounting for 3707
cancer cases in 94947 females. Out of these cancer-affected individuals, the older people were seen to be

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HEALTH EDUCATION
more affected by cancer - female breast cancer and male lung, prostrate and colorectal cancers being the
highest in amounts (Bell et al., 2018).
2. out of the three identifiedissues, identify one issue as priority for delivery of a health education
program. Provide a rationale with evidence on why you would prioritize this particular issue. (3 points)
Diabetes is one of the most harmful disorders that affect Canadian first nation people making
them to suffer from poor quality lives. The prevalence of diabetes is found to be quite high among the
older cohort of people with 39% of the older population suffering from diabetes in Canadian first nation
people. Various types of complications have been seen to be present among the older people that results
in additional suffering to the people and leading to poor quality life. Foot complications are quite high
among the older people along with higher chances of diabetic retinopathy and several eye problems.
Other types of complications are also seen to occur like that of nephropathy and kidney complications,
ketoacidosis and stroke (Hooper et al., 2017). Therefore, these result in additional suffering and financial
flow of Canadian first nation older people. Close analysis show that the prevalence of diabetes is higher
in the Canadian first nation people than the rest of the non- Canadian first nation people mainly because
of a number of factors. The first issue is the inequality faced by the Canadian first nation people in
various domains of the healthcare services. Often appropriate culturally competent is entirely absent in
the western healthcare education section that prevents the Canadian first nation people from seeking help
from the services (Dreger et al., 2015). Moreover, poor education level often make the older people
develop inappropriate food and health habits that expose them to more chances of developing diabetes.
They are also seen to have low levels of health literacy and so they cannot manage their diabetes
complications due to absence of proper self-management plans. Another risk factor that is intricately
associated with increasing the chances of this disorder is their ethnicity (Rice et al., 2016). All these are
not only resulting in the increased suffering of the Canadian first nation people but are also increasing the
diseases burden of the nation. Hence, to develop their quality of life and to ensure heath ageing among the
older cohort of the communities, health education plan is necessary.

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HEALTH EDUCATION
3. You will develop a health education program for your target population on your priority public
health and/or occupational health issues. Use appropriate evidence when providing rationale. Describe
the following components of your health education program. Please be specific in your answer. (20
points as broken down below)
Goal of the program (1pt.);
The goal of the program was to develop awareness among the older cohort of the Canadian First
Nation people to ways of preventing and managing the symptoms of diabetes, change their lifestyles and
harmful habits and to encourage them to participate in screening programs to diagnose their risks of the
disorder.
SMART objectives (one short-term, one long-term) (3 pts.):
The first long term SMART goal would be to develop awareness among the older cohort of the Canadian
First nation people to prevent the risks of developing the diseases and thereby reduce the mortality,
prevalence and the incidence of diabetes in the communities. Statistical analysis for measuring the
mortality, prevalence and the incidence of diabetes in the communities can help in measuring the
outcome. This goal is achievable by arranging health education sessions for people. This is relevant as
more people learn about risk factors; they would become more careful and change their improper food
habits. This would reduce the prevalence rates. This would require time of 12 to 18 months from now on.
The second short term SMART goal would be increase the screening rates among the target population.
The results of the screening test would help to measure how many people are at risk for developing the
disorder. This would be attainable as the program would be free and it would be helpful for the
community that has low financial security. This is relevant as screening test would help in providing
service to the people at the right time thereby reducing their exchange of suffering and making them
careful. The time required would be 3 months.