Health Promotion Program for Aboriginals: Diabetes Management

This report focuses on a health promotion program designed to address the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus among Aboriginal Australians. It highlights the alarming rates of diabetes and associated complications, such as cardiovascular, renal, and ophthalmic disorders, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions. The report explores the factors contributing to diabetes in this population, including high blood pressure, cholesterol, lifestyle factors, and diet. It then outlines a comprehensive health promotion program based on the Health Belief Model, which encompasses education, lifestyle modifications, and effective diabetes management. The educational component emphasizes raising awareness of risk factors and consequences, with interventions targeting children and adults. The lifestyle modification program focuses on weight management, diet, and physical activity. Finally, the report advocates for effective diabetes management through regular checkups, culturally safe care, and self-management education, aiming to improve health outcomes and quality of life for Aboriginal Australians. The report also provides hospitalization statistics and details the importance of early intervention and support for sustainable lifestyle changes.

Health Promotion Program For
Aboriginals In Diabetes
Management

Context
• The prevalence of diabetes mellitus among the indigenous people are
increasing at an alarming rate
• This is resulting in occurrence of number of associated disorders like
cardiovascular disorders, kidney problems, eye problems and many others
• Therefore, it is extremely important to find out the factors which are
resulting in the disorder among the aboriginals (Gauci et al., 2018 )
• Proper health promotion plan needs to be developed by healthcare
representatives so that they can be protected from the harmful disorder
• Proper health promotion program would help them to lead better quality
lives

Statistics
In the year 2012 to 2013, studies have revealed that
• Indigenous people are seen to be for times more likely to be
admitted to hospitals in comparison to their non-indigenous
counterparts for diabetes (Lyons et al., 2014)
• Diabetes was also seen to be the second cause that was
responsible for the underlying cause of death for the
indigenous people and this was found to be six times higher
than the non-indigenous people were.

Factors
Factors that contribute to the development of the occurrence of diabetes in
the indigenous people;
• High blood pressure which is not controlled
• High blood cholesterol which is not controlled
• Lifestyle factor that promotes tobacco smoking in their culture
• Low levels of physical activity (Gauci et al., 2018)
• Improper knowledge of diet management
• Being overweight

Important complications associated with diabetes
• Circulatory complications of diabetes may result in affecting
different heart and blood vessels resulting in occurrence of angina,
heart attack, stroke as well as peripheral vascular tissue
• Renal complications of diabetes are seen to affect the kidneys
causing diabetic nephropathy as well as chronic kidney failure
• Ophthalmic complications are seen to affect eyes causing diabetic
retinopathy, cataracts as well as glaucoma
• Other complications mainly include the damage of the nerve
structure and their functions. This mainly occurs due to the result
of the reduction of the blood flow to the different nerves.
• Peripheral neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy are also
common

Hospitalization
• When statistical analysis is conducted for finding out individuals who hare suffering
from diabetes in the remote as well as very remote areas, a number of data had been
found. (rate per 100,000 population and rate ratio)
• Hospitalizations of aboriginal people due to circulatory issues associated with diabetes
are 23 and the rate ratio is 1.3 in comparison to non-indigenous people.
• Renal issues due to diabetes shows rate of 52 with a rate ratio of 7.7 (Nilashi et al.,
2016)
• Ophthalmic issues associated with diabetes shows a rate of 29 and a rate ratio of 3.1
• Other specified disorders which included hospitalization due to diabetes is 413 with a
rate ratio of 8.3
• Multiple complications due to diabetes accounts to a rate of 412 with a rate ratio of
9.7
• No complications accounts to 22 with a rate ratio of 4.6
• 951 people were seen to be affected and hospitalized and the rate ratio of it was 7.3
due to diabetes mellitus.

Health promotion;
• A number of genres have to be included in the health
promotion program so that all the negative aspects of the
aboriginals in their self-health management can be identified
and accordingly modified.
• Therefore, the health promotion would be mainly based on
the health belief model (Lyons et al., 2014)
• The health belief model will mainly focus on the three
important aspects. This would be based on education, lifestyle
modifications, and proper management of the disorder.

Health belief model
The Health belief model is seen to have five important aspects that need to
be covered in the health promotion program;
• Gathering important information by effective conduction of the health
needs assessments
• To properly convey consequences about the issues regarding the health
which are associated with the risky behaviors to the target population
(Lyons et al., 2014)
• Properly conducting of effective communication to the target population
of the different steps which are to be involved in order to take effective
recommended action and then highlighting the benefits of action

continuation
• To provide proper assistance to the individuals by properly
identifying as well as reducing the barriers of action
• Proper demonstration of the actions by proper skills
development activities
• Providing support that will help to enhance self-efficacy as
well as likelihood of proper successful behavioral changes
Therefore, all the above mentioned principle will be followed in
ways by which the healthy habit changes can be made among
the target population;

Education as the first priority in the health promotion program;
• Education is one of the most important techniques that
can be applied for prevention of diabetes among the
indigenous people (Gauci et al., 2017)
• Education would help in the raising of the awareness of
the different risk factors of diabetes and also the
consequences that result from the diabetes in the
individuals

Best approach to educate the target population;
• Best approach to educate the target population;
• Researchers are of the opinion that Intervention programs which influence
the early year education can be suitable for development of knowledge
about the nutritional status that is important for maintaining health
lifestyles
• This intervention of the health promotion program would be targeted to
the non-indigenous children and the adults.
• This is believed to be important, as it would help in prevention of the risk
factors for diabetes in the later portions of their lives.
• Different interesting programs which are school based education programs
would be developed for school children as well as adolescents (Adegbija,
2016)

Lifestyle modifications;
• Intensive lifestyle programs would be introduced in a
community based manner so that all the issues with their
poor health habits and poor health hygiene can be attended
(Davis et al., 2015).
• The programs which should be developed should be culturally
appropriate as well as locally supported and should be
targeted prevention programs

lifestyle modification program
• The lifestyle modification program would be mainly attending
to three important aspects. These are the excess weight gain
and weight management issues, improper knowledge of diet
planning and diet intake and physical inactivity.
• The program would provide the participants with
o Proper life skills
o Proper knowledge (Adegbija, 2016)
o Proper support to make appropriate sustainable life changes

lifestyle modification program
• Appropriate measurements are to be taken the health promotion
representatives in order to support the population and help them live a
sustainable life.
• Development of proper stores and through community gardens and
traditional food projects
• This would help to increase availability as well as access of health food to
the target people.
• To make healthy food cheaper
• Limited advertising of unhealthy food (Davis et al., 2015)
• Encouragement of physical activities by proper partnerships with
community councils

Effective management;
• Effective as well as appropriate diabetes management should
be advocated in the health promotion programs to make
them develop the habit of visiting healthcare centers for
regular checkups (Davis et al., 2015).
• Coordinated interaction among the members of the
community to learn about their concerns and issues and
accordingly develop interventions for them.

Diabetes management program;
• Diabetes management program mainly includes the following activities in
the health promotion program;
• The cohort should be advised to seek for earlier detection of undiagnosed
diabetes
• Seek for primary health care services influencing them that culturally safe
care is the foundation of the services in the modern generation (Adegbija,
Hoy & Wang, 2015)
• Providing them with the roper lost of medications that they can uptake
• Self management education needs to be given
• Tertiary specialist treatment should be taken for when complications arise

All the mentioned strategies would help in;
• Improvement in the understanding of the different chronic
conditions and their management
• Active participation, greater control and involvement in
management of their own health
• Ability to set and achieve realistic personal goals (Hays et al.,
2015)
• Ideas of seeking intervention early when affected by disorder
• Proper monitoring of progress

References
• Adegbija, O. (2016). Waist circumference and risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and
mortality among Aboriginal adults in an Australian community.
• Adegbija, O., Hoy, W., & Wang, Z. (2015). Predicting absolute risk of type 2 diabetes using age and
waist circumference values in an aboriginal Australian community. PloS one, 10(4), e0123788.
• Davis, T. M., Hunt, K., Bruce, D. G., Starkstein, S., Skinner, T., McAullay, D., & Davis, W. A. (2015).
Prevalence of depression and its associations with cardio-metabolic control in Aboriginal and Anglo-
Celt patients with type 2 diabetes: the Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II. Diabetes research and
clinical practice, 107(3), 384-391.
• Gauci, R., Hunter, M., Bruce, D. G., Davis, W. A., & Davis, T. M. (2017). Anemia complicating type 2
diabetes: Prevalence, risk factors and prognosis. Journal of diabetes and its complications, 31(7),
1169-1174.
• Hays, R., Esterman, A., & McDermott, R. (2015). Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with
Strongyloides stercoralis treatment failure in Australian aboriginals. PLoS neglected tropical
diseases, 9(8), e0003976.
• Lyons, K. J., Ezekowitz, J. A., Liu, W., McAlister, F. A., & Kaul, P. (2014). Mortality outcomes among
status Aboriginals and whites with heart failure. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 30(6), 619-626.
• Nilashi, M., Bin Ibrahim, O., Mardani, A., Ahani, A., & Jusoh, A. (2016). A soft computing approach for
diabetes disease classification. Health Informatics Journal, 1460458216675500.

Thank you