Role of Nurses in Health Promotion Strategies for Diabetes Mellitus

Principles of Primary Health Care
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Introduction
The fundamental purpose of the essay is to determine the role of nurses or midwives in
the five major strategies that have been identified in the Ottawa Charter for health
promotion. Health promotion refers to the process in which people can raise their
control over the disease and develop their health. The role of a nurse or midwife is
based on the condition of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus refers to the disease that
caused due to the deficiency in the production of insulin by the pancreas. It is
commonly7 known as diabetes and consists of two types, such as type 1 and type 2. It
can be prevented with the help of nurses or midwives.
Role of Nurse/Midwife in the promotion of health
Health promotion is considered as an integral part of primary health care in which
nurses plays an integral part as a primary care workforce. The Ottawa Charter for
Health Promotion (1986) has developed the concept of health promotion by identifying
five significant strategies (Fry & Zask, 2016). The strategies for health promotion are
effectively used by the health care organizations or practitioners for addressing the
various health issues in the community. The five key strategies such as building healthy
public policy, creating supportive environments, strengthening the actions of the
community, developing personal skills and reorienting health services are used by the
nurses or midwives for addressing the health issues (Thompson, Watson & Tilford,
2018).
Diabetes Mellitus is being identified as a significant concern in Australia. The disease
has been increasing rapidly in the developed as well as developing countries. The
disease is common among middle and older age population. The population of Australia
comprises of migrants across various parts of the globe, and thus, it can be said that
people who are born in overseas more likely to have the risks of type 2 diabetes than
the people born in Australia (Ebrahimi, Sadeghi, Amanpour & Vahedi, 2016).
Nurses or midwives use the strategies of Ottawa Charter guiding and reducing the
diabetes mellitus among the people (Baron et al., 2017). Below are the five strategies:
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Build healthy public policy: To build healthy public policy is to be the solution of
improving the health of the people. It is required to have a healthy public policy for
keeping the public safe from the diseases. It is seen that diabetes has become a
significant problem in the lives of most of the people. This strategy can be appropriate
for reducing the burden of diabetes at the level of community. The healthy policies
provide the individuals to choose a healthier option for reducing the risk of causing
diabetes (Thompson, Snyder, Burt, Greiner & Luna, 2015). The nurses play a major role
in promoting public policy to reduce the conditions of diabetes mellitus. They advocate
patients, the families as well as the other relatives regarding the disease and
consequently, the community could try to prevent the disease from occurring. The nurse
supports the patents in doing physical activity as it is crucial for the patients having
diabetes mellitus (George et al., 2016). The nursing practitioners help in managing the
people to stay healthy as well as prevent complications of the disease. Diabetic patients
are providing lessons on physical activity which will reduce the risks of diabetes. The
nurses educate the patients as well as families to remain healthy and fit by developing
healthy policies.
Creating a supportive environment: This strategy is used to ensure a safe and
enjoyable place for the people. Diabetes is not only a problem of the individual but also
the major issue for the whole family. The strategy helps in creating a partnership with
each other for building a healthy environment to motivate the individuals towards health.
The nurses or midwives play a role of advocacy to advocate the group of the community
regarding the causes of diabetes and therefore, avoid those things that cause diabetes.
The midwife and nurse empower the individuals as well as the community to create a
healthy environment. The nurse practitioner helps in motivating the primary care
partnerships for developing an action plan for diabetes to improve the health of the
persons (Halcomb, Stephens, Bryce, Foley & Ashley, 2016). Strategies are also
identified by the nurse to focus on the reduction of the disease. An interaction between
the families and patients as well as communities is facilitated by the nurse that will help
the patient to exchange their ideas and information regarding the controlling of the
diseases. With the help of NDSS (national diabetes service scheme), nurses provide
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