Wellness Across the Lifespan in Nursing: A Study of Type 2 Diabetes

This essay examines the concept of wellness across the lifespan in nursing, focusing specifically on Type 2 diabetes. It uses the case of Susan, a 45-year-old unemployed single mother in rural Queensland, to illustrate the impacts of Type 2 diabetes, including eye disease, kidney infection, and diabetic neuropathy. The essay identifies social determinants such as living in a rural environment and economic instability, as well as behavioral determinants like lack of physical exercise and poor diet, which increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes. It also discusses the principles of motivational interviewing and their application in health promotion, emphasizing the role of healthcare professionals in guiding patients towards healthier lifestyles. The conclusion highlights the growing threat of Type 2 diabetes and the importance of early detection, government support, and community education in promoting wellness and preventing the disease.

Running head: WELLNESS ACROSS LIFESPAN IN NURSING
Wellness across the Lifespan in Nursing
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Introduction
Susan is a 45 years old and lives in the rural area of Queensland town together with her
two kids aged 13 and 15. Susan is a single parent who is unemployed, and her only source of
income is unemployment benefits which are given to all the unemployed people in the country.
Recently, Susan has been worried about her health situation. She comes from a family with a
history of Type 2 diabetes. Susan does not like participating in physical exercises because she
feels unmotivated. She has been taking processed food because they are cheap and she cannot
afford expensive food, and she does not like cooking. She has been stressed about her situation
because her doctor Mr. Smith just noticed that she had gained a lot of weight and she feels tired
throughout and need to go to the toilet every time. Her doctor has advised her to seek further
medical attention so that she can be helped to reduce her risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. This
paper focuses on the impacts of Type 2 diabetes, social determinant that increases the risk for
Type 2 diabetes, behavioral; determinants for Type 2 diabetes and principles of motivational
interviewing and their use to health promotion.
Impacts of Type 2 diabetes
Australian women who are suffering from Type 2 diabetes experience a lot of problems
and challenges because the infection has a lot of effects to their health (Dunkley et al., 2014).
Type 2 diabetes can lead to eye disease because it affects and damages the back of the eye thus
affecting vision. These women can also experience kidney infection. Kidneys play a very vital
role in our bodies of cleaning our blood and remove waste and pass it out of the body through
urine (Umpierre et al., 2013). Type 2 diabetes can cause some damages to the kidneys which are
hard to recognize until they are in advanced level. Australian women are therefore advised to

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ensure that they go for testing more often so that diabetic complication can be identified at early
stages because early signs of diabetic are detected through a urine test. Diabetic neuropathy in
advanced level leads to loss of feeling in hands and feet. Reduced blood circulation as a result of
high blood glucose affects normal wound healing which in which a patient can develop
permanent injuries. Type 2 diabetes also affects sexual health of most Australian women. This
happens because diabetic causes vaginal dryness, thrush, and women experience pain during
sexual intercourse and it becomes tough for them to achieve an organism (Dimas et al., 2013).
Susan, in this case, is affected by Type 2 diabetic in such a way that she has gained a lot of
weight, and she feels weak and tired all the time. Due to the damaged kidneys by type 2 diabetic
she has been experiencing needs to go to the toilet almost all the time.
Social determinants that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes
There is a different social determinant of Type 2 diabetes which increased Susan
exposure to Type 2 diabetes. The first determinant is the built environment in which Susan and
her two children were staying which is a rural and remote town. In rural areas like this it hard to
find proper transportation and thus it becomes hard for them to be able to seek medical attention
(Hill et al., 2013). This area is also hard for people to be able to find healthy foods and that is
why Susan has to depend on processed foods. With all these barriers Susan is not able to
adequately resource which are significant for her health condition like healthcare facilities. Due
to lack of public transport in rural areas to urban areas where patients can access health care
services patients experiences a lot of challenges which leads to their health deterioration.
Economic instability is another challenge which Susan was experiencing. With poor social,
economic status in which Susan was coming from a poor background, and she was a single
parent supposed to take care of two children with no job but only depending on unemployment

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benefits given by the state made it hard for her to be able to seek medical attention. In the remote
area where Susan lives there are not enough healthcare facilities where she can go for testing
after noticing that her health condition was deteriorating (American Diabetes Association, 2015).
This is why her doctor advised that she should seek medical attention somewhere else where she
can be tested for Type 2 diabetes. Susan lifestyle can also highly contribute to Type 2 diabetes.
She does not cook but depends on processed food which is termed as risk factors for Type 2
diabetes.
The behavioral determinant of Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes can be affected by behaviors in which a person engage himself/herself to.
Lack of physical exercise is a potential risk factor for Type 2 diabetes (Schram et al., 2014). The
change of lifestyle highly contributes this from traditional to modern. Australian women who
live in urban areas like town and cities are at high risk of getting infected by this infection. This
happens because they do not engage themselves in some physical activities which are essential to
their health and can reduce the risk of been infected by Type 2 diabetes. On the other end,
women in rural areas are advantages as they participate in some activities such as farming bad
cultivating which reduce their chances of been infected (Walker et al., 2014). Susan is at high
risk of getting Type 2 diabetes because she doesn’t participate in physical exercises and she does
not like doing anything and that why she loves processed ready food so that she does not cook.
Physical activities significant help reduce Type 2 diabetes because they enhance body sensitivity
to insulin and it dramatically helps manage blood sugar levels in the body. Her socioeconomic
status and health condition have also stressed Susan. Stress is known as another behavioral risk
factor for Type 2 diabetes (Agborsangaya et al., 2013). Physicals and mental stress have the
capability of changing blood sugar levels which can be challenging to individuals. Physical stress

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which is caused by injuries raises the blood sugar level in people with Type 2 diabetes. Susan is
also at high risk of getting infected with Type 2 diabetes she comes from a family with this
infection. Type 2 diabetic can quickly be passed from one generation to another through genetic
means. She also likes taking processed foods which are a risk factor for this type of infection
instead of taking cooked healthy foodstuffs.
Principles of motivational interviewing and their use in the context of health promotion
The law of motivational interviewing is the process which enables patients to have
control over their health status, and they can improve their health status by taking the right
precautions (Elwyn et al., 2014). Healthcare professionals by interacting with patients can guide
them and advise to lead change their lifestyles and adopt healthy lifestyles which can enable
them to be able to reduce risks of them been infected by various infections. By having a good
relationship with her doctor, Susan was able to get assistance early in advise as her doctor after
recognizing her signs and symptoms for Type 2 diabetes she encouraged her to seek further
medical attention so that she can be able to get assistance on what she should do to manage her
health condition (Moore et al., 2015). Susan does not participate in physical activities because
she does not feel motivated. Therefore it is the role of healthcare professionals to encourage her
and inform her about the benefits of such events to her health. There are various principles of
motivational interviewing, and they include the following; expressing empathy with sick people
and showing them they are not alone and supporting them, understanding the motivation of the
patient and guiding them on doing things which makes them happy and improves there health
condition. Healthcare professionals should be able to listen to the patient with empathy and
empower them on what to do. This is why Dr. Smith looked at Susan and advised her to seek
further medical care. For healthcare professionals to be able to achieve all these principles, they

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should utilize their skills and expertise to create a strong therapeutic relationship with their
clients (Riekert, Ockene & Pbert, 2013).
Conclusion
Type 2 diabetics are becoming a life-threatening infection across the globe. This infection
affects all people despite their age and race. This infection is accompanied by some negative
impacts to the health of patients, and therefore people are highly recommended to go for testing
immediately after they suspect it. It is a life-threatening infection which can lead to health
complications such as eye problems which if not treated early in advance can lead to blindness.
Social determinants such as poverty contribute to this infection, and thus the government should
ensure that they provide resources and health care services to individuals who are not in a
position to afford them on their own. The Australian government should also ensure that there
are enough healthcare institutions mostly in remote and rural areas so that patients do not have to
travel a long distance to seek medical care in urban cities and towns. Individuals are advised to
seek help from healthcare professionals so that they can be informed about what they should do
to enhance their health. Processed foodstuffs and lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabetes.
Therefore the community should be educated on the importance of participating in physical
activities and taking healthy diets.

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