Health Promotion Strategies and Nurses' Role in Type 2 Diabetes

This essay examines health promotion strategies for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), Australia's leading health priority. It highlights the roles of registered nurses in promoting health against diabetes, reflecting the five strategies of health promotion outlined in the Ottawa Charter. These strategies include building healthy public policies, creating supportive environments, strengthening community actions, developing personal skills, and reorienting health services. The essay emphasizes the importance of collaboration between nurses, patients, healthcare professionals, and policymakers. Nurses advocate for policies such as taxing unhealthy foods and promoting physical activity. They also work to provide relevant information and create supportive environments for the population to better their health. The essay further highlights the need for community involvement and personal skill development in managing T2DM, with nurses playing a crucial role in education and lifestyle modifications. Finally, the essay concludes that nurses and midwives are invaluable in the fight against type 2 diabetes and health promotion is a collective responsibility.

Running head: HEALTH PROMOTION FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES
Health Promotion for Type 2 Diabetes
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Health Care Promotion for Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), has been identified as Australia’s leading health
priority due to its alarming growth rate. In the year 2015, it was estimated that over 1.7 million
people were diagnosed with diabetes; while a large population was at a high risk of developing
diabetes. Another diabetic complication is the development of cardiovascular diseases which is
the leading cause of death in Australia. This paper highlights the roles of registered nurses in the
promotion of health against diabetes. The essay reflects the five strategies of health promotion by
Ottawa Charter for prevention of T2DM.
Health promotion is a multidisciplinary task often characterized by various
collaborations; one between the patient and care providers and the other between healthcare
professionals and the community stakeholders. As it stands, T2DM poses a social challenge that
calls for; reorientation of care providers and healthcare settings, strong policies and strategies
closely monitored by national authorities, and proper participation from relevant stakeholders.
Therefore, the nurses’ roles in the promotion of health involve working hand in hand with
diabetic patients, general population, other healthcare professionals, and the policy-makers
(Sherifali, 2017).
Ottawa Charter for health promotion gives guidance for promotion of health practice to
address the issue. The first basic strategy of health promotion is to build healthy public policy.
This policy combines the various corresponding approaches which comprise of legislation,
taxation, change in organization and fiscal measures (Maximova et al., 2016). The policy
requires the recognition of barriers that stops the policy to get adopted in non-health sectors and
to find the ways to remove it. T2DM is the major public health problem which high prevalence
in the low and middle income group peoples. The disease is increasing with the aging population

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as well the younger generation, which is mainly because of low economic status and low quality
of life. Its prevention needs politic influence to build health policy which can get magnetized by
public concern. National nurse association play vital role in identifying the major barrier that
causes resistance to the policy amendment in non-health sector. Nurses acknowledge the need for
effective collaboration with policy-makers in the structuring of policies related to non-
communicable diseases such as diabetes. With their knowledge and experience, nurses and
midwives are well equipped to support policies that aim to rehabilitate, treat, and prevent T2DM.
Nurses are actively advocating for the execution of policies that target the reduction of risk
factors, such as taxing and controlling the advertisement of alcoholic drinks and unhealthy foods.
Also, they advocate for policies that encourage physical activities in schools to curb the
increasing obesity menace (Arena et al., 2017). Moreover, nurses advocate for policies that
introduce risk screening tools a necessity in public health settings (Beig et al. 2018).
Consequently, with the nurses’ interventions patients are supported to make informed health-
related decisions and actions (Kilkenny et al., 2014).
Second strategy of Ottawa charter is to create supportive environment. The strategy
focusses on to protect the natural environment and to construct a supportive atmosphere. In the
strategy, the conservation of natural resource must be addressed (Thompson, Watson & Tilford,
2018). Prevention of the T2DM requires reduction of weight loss and modification of lifestyle.
The risk factor for T2DM are smoking, BMI, exercise and diet plan. A healthy environment and
awareness is needed to address the issue. There is the need to create such an environment which
can check the progression of risk factors and can prevent the diseases. Therefore, integration of
public health service creates options to develop strategies to recognize the ways their service are
being complementary. Nurses strive to provide an environment that supports and encourages the

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population to better their health. Nurses do so by participating in the development of nationally
accepted diabetes guidelines as guided and directed by the criteria set by the Australian Health
Ministers’ Advisory Council. There is an increasing number of web pages providing good health
information that can be accessed by the general public. Nurses and midwives step in to help the
public get relevant information from the resources (Lazzarini et al., 2018). Nursing’s holistic
approach to health issues also helps in the creation of a conducive environment as it builds on the
strengths and resources available.
The third strategy is to strengthen the community actions where the health promotion
works through the participation and effective action by the community to attain better health.
The development of community requires existing material and human resource to increase the
social support (Alami et al., 2017). This focuses on the build flexible systems for encouraging
participation of people by giving access to information, learning opportunities and funding. It is
noted that T2DM is the widespread disease which occur globally, its prevention will work by
effective community actions in taking decision, planning the strategies, giving priority and
implementing the actions in order to attain quality health. In the plan to strengthen the
communities’ actions, nurses collaborate with non-governmental organizations such as the
Australian Diabetes Educators Association and embark on educational campaigns. These
campaigns aim to sensitize the communities on the risk factors, symptoms, and the complications
of T2DM. Significantly, they advocate that the communities adopt healthy lifestyles to have
better control of their health (Lazzarini et al. 2018). To realize this, they work hand in hand with
the general population in the efforts to address existing obstacles to optimal health. For example,
nurses advise supermarkets against promoting the consumption of junk foods while urging
schools to encourage students to participate in physical activities. (Reilly et al., 2016).

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The fourth strategy of the health promotion by Ottawa and Charter is the development of
the personal skill. This strategy will make people able to learn about the disease through
providing education related to health, creating awareness and improving life skill. The strategy
will help people to prepare themselves to cope with the illness (Christensen et al., 2016). In the
development of personal skills, nurses work with individuals and the community at large to
ensure that the set strategies are implemented. In Australia the prevalence of T2DM is also
because of lack of information about the disease and its management. People are ignorant about
the way to control its occurrence. The major affected group are the indigenous people who do
not have access to education and ways to cope with the disease. They also monitor individuals to
ensure they adhere to the lifestyle modifications suggested reducing the risks of developing type
2 diabetes (Speight et al., 2016). In so doing, nurses provide the community with the best
available options to have control of their health. Additionally, nurses help create an environment
that helps diabetic patients build their skills and enhances positive health practices. One way is
advocating that the population observe their eating habits and embrace physical activities (Avery
et al., 2016). Nurse can encourage the community people to develop skills related to choice of
diet, daily intake of recommended food, exercise and to bring life style modification.
The fifth strategy of the health promotion is to reorient health service. This reflects the
responsibility of community, individual and health professional for health promotion in the
health service (Fry & Zask, 2016). The strategies calls for collaborative work and consideration
to the health research and amendment in the education and training. The health promotion
service aligned with the prevention of T2DM which require integration with another health
service. In Australia, diabetes is increasing at high rate where health service such as free clinical
check-ups proves to promote its prevention. In non-health sector, the people are economically

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poor and cannot get adequate medication for T2DM. With the reorientation of policy,
government can financially support them. In reorienting of health services, nurses strive to make
health services affordable, available, and accessible to all members of the community. Also, they
endeavor to improve the efficiency of health services in terms of health promotion, prevention,
and treatment. To achieve this most of the nurses turn to internet resources to improve their
knowledge of treating type 2 diabetes (Lazzarini et al. 2018). Nurses working with other
community groups help set up free clinical check-ups to reach a wider population. Health
promotion is a collective responsibility between individuals, community groups, health
professionals, health service organizations and governments. Nurses and midwives are the core
of this responsibility and always work towards achieving optimal health of the society. To realize
this objective, nurses and midwives provide relevant education and appropriate information to
ensure the population has better control of their health (Reilly et al., 2016).
In conclusion, nurses and midwives play crucial roles in promoting health for type 2
diabetes. They act in line within the Ottawa Charter strategies of health promotion through;
participating in the structuring of health policies, reorienting health services, sustaining a healthy
environment, strengthening community actions, and helping individuals build skills that help in
controlling their health. Nurses and midwives make up the largest section of the healthcare
professional team and are invaluable in the fight against type 2 diabetes. Health promotion is an
interdisciplinary task; nurses’ efforts may not be enough if the rest of the responsible teams relax
in the fight against type 2 diabetes.

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