Ottawa Charter and The Role of Nurses in Managing Diabetes Mellitus

Running head: OTTAWA CHARTER AND THE ROLE OF NURSES 1
Ottawa Charter and The Role of Nurses
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OTTAWA CHARTER AND THE ROLE OF NURSES 2
Ottawa Charter and The Role of Nurses
Health promotion is a fundamental strategy in enhancing wellbeing among people across
the globe. Health promotion calls for diverse parties which include medical practitioners, the
community as an entity, leadership departments, health institutions and other related parties. The
first international conference on health promotion was held on 1st November 1986 at Ottawa,
leading to the development of the five primary principles of healthcare. Such principles aimed at
responding to the growing expectations of the new public health movement across the globe.
Even though the principles of healthcare have been advocated across the globe since their
establishment, little emphasis has been placed on the application of the principles in the nursing
profession for the management of specific health conditions. Therefore, this essay has been set to
discuss in detailed the role of nurses in exploiting the five primary principles of public health in
the management of Diabetes Mellitus.
Firstly, nurses have the responsibility to strengthen community action as a primary
principle on the Ottawa Charter (World Health Organization, 1986). Nurses execute this
principle by organizing community development programs to enlighten society about the general
knowledge and management of diabetes mellitus. Usually, diabetes mellitus is a disease that is
rooted in nutritional and physical exercise needs. Therefore, strengthening community action is a
fundamental strategy in curbing the problem. Often, the family members of an individual who
has developed diabetes mellitus are at higher risks in developing the disease. Diabetes Mellitus
management should focus on encouraging collaborative movement between the health
practitioners and the adult family members of the patients. Such collaborative efforts are only
promoted through the community development programs initiated by nursing practitioners.
Therefore, the nursing practitioners serve a fundamental role in educating and empowering the

OTTAWA CHARTER AND THE ROLE OF NURSES 3
community as an entity about the disease (Edmonson, et, al., 2017). This includes the provision
of disease management skills and ways to prevent the development of the disease.
Creation of a supportive environment has also been mentioned as a primary principle of
public health. The nursing practitioners have a fundamental role in creating a supportive
environment for the patients, family members and other related parties when it comes to the
management of diabetes. Nursing practitioners create a friendly and supportive environment for
diabetes mellitus patients. For instance, the nursing practitioners provide the patients with
dialectological education, which serve a fundamental role in the achievement of therapeutic
objectives. Additionally, the nursing practitioners educate the patients on self-testing of capillary
blood glucose level (Coppola, Sasso, Bagnasco, Giustina, & Gazzaruso, 2016). These tests serve
a vital role in the identification of undetected hypoglycemia. The test also informs the patient
about the time of the day when glycaemia control is worst. Therefore, it is clear that self-test
education as a patient-support mechanism offered by the nursing practitioner to the diabetic
patients serves a significant role in making opportune modifications in therapy (Wong, et, al.,
2016). The nursing practitioners also encompass pieces of advice on the management of various
conditions like hypoglycemia or hyperglycemic-ketotic decompensation within the self-testing
program (Krall et al., 2016). Such pieces of advice serve a fundamental role in limiting the
number of hospital admissions among the diabetes mellitus patients thus enabling them to
possess a better quality of life.
The nursing practitioner also serves a fundamental role in providing support to the
patients regarding the execution of the treatment programs. Often the treatment of diabetes
mellitus is dietary and physical exercise oriented (American Diabetes Association 2019). The
nursing practitioners serve a significant role in designing a nutritional program for the patients