Psychosocial Impacts of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Case Study

Running head: NURSING
Topic: NURSING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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This case study revolves around an individual who have been suffering from Type 2
Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) which is a long term condition in the patient’s case. This
assignment would focus on the psychosocial impacts of the person and the members of the
patient’s family. The upcoming paragraphs would highlight the significance and participation
of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) involved, which would help in formulating an effective
plan of care and support the patient through a successful collaborative nursing approach and
and provide an effective person centred care as well. The health issues affecting the
individual and the impact they have on the long term condition is discussed here. Moreover,
the implementation of specific nursing strategies for the establishment of a stable therapeutic
relationship with the patient is also explored.
Task 1:
The person involved in the case study is Mrs Rose. She is 62 years old and lives in
New Zealand with her family. The members constituting her family include her husband Mr
Robert her son Robinson, in the north Islands of New Zealand. Rose is a senior manager of a
super market by profession and she has been in the profession for almost 12 years. She has
been suffering from T2DM since 2002. After being diagnosed with the disease she had to
leave her job in 2015. Her level of alcohol in the body is normal as she drinks occasionally.
She have been suffering from the disease since 2002 and had to quit her job due to the
disease. Furthermore, due to imbalance in a proper diabetic diet she has also suffered from
foot ulcers, severe fatigue and dizziness. Rose had considered the advice of her general
practitioner (GP) when she was 46 years old and started the use of oral hypoglycaemic
medications according to the advice of her GP.
Mrs. Rose faced inconveniences during her regular check-up of blood glucose levels
and during the subcutaneous administration of the levels of her blood glucose. She had to

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suffer from various emotional, social, mental problems. Excessive fatigue, interruptions
during sleep, frequently feeling thirsty, loss in appetite along with frequent urination along
with impaired motility created many disturbances in her life. The main symptom of diabetes
demanded total restriction in sucrose intake where she could not eat desserts. Continuous
isolation affected her mental condition as she started suffering from depression and isolation.
Task 2:
Type II diabetes is a result of the combined resistance which is on the secretion of
insulin. Hyperglycaemia is the main symptom which causes various functional and
pathologic changes in the various target tissues. T2DM is a long term condition as it may be
present in the body for a long period of time without a significant symptom. The abnormal
carbohydrate metabolism is very difficult to be demonstrated during the asymptomatic period
even in fasting condition (American Diabetes Association,2014). According to studies by
Selph et al.,(2015) patients suffering from diabetes mellitus are often insulin insensitive.
Moreover, such patients had the ability of manifesting the defect in the impaired ability
including the islet beta cells for response to intravenous secretagogues including glucose.
Moreover, the intestinal micro biome is also important as they are pivotal in the regulation of
obesity. It has been found that the change in gut micro biome may be a reason for the
development of diseases like T2DM. According to the studies conducted by Asmat Abbad &
Ismail (2016), oxidative stress plays an important role through alteration of impaired
metabolism of glutathione, lipid peroxidation, and reduction in the usual levels of Vitamin C
in the body.
Onset of the disease mainly occurs at the age of 35-40 and it primarily occurs due to
increased rates of micro albumin, dyslipidaemia as well as hypertension. Moreover the
inability of the cells to secrete insulin also serves as an important factor (Narasimhan &

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Weinstock, 2014). The presence of a sedentary life style and obesity were some of the reason
behind the diagnosis of the diseases in the case of Mrs Rose. However T2DM is
asymptomatic and can often be present for a long time without any possible symptom. The
various signs and symptoms of T2DM would include hyperglycaemia mainly and obesity
alongside hypertension. Moreover, a blood pressure value greater than 135/80 was a sign for
diabetes, impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance levels could also be
checked. Prognosis of the diseases include cardiovascular and heart diseases. Ischemic heart
diseases and all-cause mortality have been the factors responsible for T2DM (Johnassen et
al.2014). Controlling the blood sugar levels is important as it has shown to reduce micro
vascular as well as macro vascular components. Thus proper medical treatment is required for
keeping the disease under control which involve changing to a healthy lifestyle (Bagnasco et
al.,2014). The long term complication of the disease has been retinopathy, neuropathy
cardiomyopathy. According to the case study Rose has stated that imbalance in her diet led to
foot ulcers which has been mainly caused due to loss of sensation at the extremities
eventually leading to cancer. Moreover, Rose had also stated that T2DM also had negative
impacts on her psychosocial life causing depression and anxiety about the amputation.
Moreover, her family members were also affected by the adverse effects of the disease. Her
family members also suffered from stress and tension regarding her continued ailment. They
also faced financial burden as her son did not live with them and they had to depend on him
for their living.
Task 3:
Prevalence of increased cases of diabetes mellitus has found that chronic
complications can increase cases of morbidity, mortality, disabilities as well as health costs
(Tarigan et al,2015).