Community Needs and Health Screening

Introduction

Approximately, 29.1 million Americans have type 2 diabetes despite the lifestyle modification emphasis from various healthcare institutions.  Besides, it is the seventh leading cause of death in developed nations because of complications like kidney failure, stroke and heart diseases.  The economic load of type 2 diabetes was $ 245 billion and $ 69 billion for both direct and indirect medication respectively (Gregory & Nordheim, 2016). The paper focuses on community needs and health screening of African American in Detroit, Michigan. Precisely, it discusses screening purpose, population, screening activity, conceptual model, location and outcomes.

Screening Purpose

There are increased efforts to address the difference in diabetes rates among ethnic minorities in the U.S.  In Michigan, the prevalence of diabetes is higher than other states. Furthermore, diabetes is significantly highest in African Americans in the region compared to other races (Sacks & Coresh, 2014). The aim of the screening was the identification of characteristics connected to abnormal blood glucose among African Americans.

Population

The researchers collected data from African Americans that lacked previous diabetes diagnosis at a mobile screening event in Michigan notably, Detroit. The received data encompassed gender, age, race, weight, self-reported height, blood pressure, random capillary blood glucose and total diabetes risk score.

Screening Activity

The first step of the screening was the use of pre-existing data where it started with the available epidemiological data to understand issues of Type II diabetes and local trends. The second step entailed series of interviews with key persons in the Detroit community. They were identified by Flint Health Coalition Diabetes Task Force, and the prioritized individuals were African Americans that participated social or medical services associated with diabetes management and prevention.  The third activity entailed a series of focus groups which were majorly social services and health care agencies in Detroit.  The function of the focus group was to screen and identify factors that contributed to increased diabetes cases among African Americans in the region.  The fourth step consisted of the development and distribution of surveys that were administered to the sampled population.  Major areas of concern included diabetes knowledge and risks, left efficacy associated with diabetes prevention, for example, physical activity, behaviours,  program logistics and demographics (Feathers & Wisdom, 2015).

It also identified individuals at high risk of diabetes without undertaking tests that are hard to perform.  Therefore, the approaches entailed the combination of questionnaires and capillary glycosylated haemoglobin test.  The strategy included the completion of reliable and validated 7-item diabetes risk assessment survey.  The second method was the collection whole blood drops from fingers of the sampled African Americans to screen glycosylated haemoglobin.

Conceptual Model

The conceptual approach utilized in the type II diabetes screening was called PEN-3 model, which aimed at situating culture at the centre of the determining health behaviour in connection with disease prevention and health promotion.  The PEN 3 model was used as health promotion framework in African nations. However, the increase in the emphasis on cultural relevance and community-based intervention stimulated its application in the United States.  The focus on cultural influence as well as the integration of cultural experiences and beliefs along with culturally sensitives messages were effective strategies to address health issues like type II diabetes among minority populations.  The model is different from traditional health promotion frameworks because it addresses type II diabetes health issues in three dimensions (Heuman & Wilkinson, 2013).

Location and Population

The researched focused on Detroit which is a populous city in Michigan and it is situated in the United States and Canada border.  The municipality estimated a population of  1.3 million in the region in 2012 making it the 23rdlargest city in the US.  In 2014, Detroit Metropolitan had African American population of approximately 961,871 (Lorentz & Le Bihan, 2015). That was about 70,000 lesser African Americans compared to 2000 when the population of the Blacks was beyond 1 million.  Black Detroit increased as a result of Great Black Migration from Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia as well as Kentucky. That heightened the blacks population from around 6,000 in 1910 to 120,000 in 1930.  In 2010, about 2863 blacks in Detroit were hospitalized due to diabetes. Furthermore, 741 types II diabetes in the region was related to stroke while 224 were connected to cardiovascular disease (Lorentz & Le Bihan, 2015).

Cost

Items
US Dollars

Screening questionnaires
80

Ac1 testing Kits
75

Syringe
65

Cotton
45

needles
63

Travel Allowance
100

Total
428

 

Outcome

The result indicated that there was a gap between lifestyle behaviour, overweight and obesity status.  For instance, 71% of undiagnosed high-risk persons were obese in regards to self-reported BMI ranking. Females were at increased risk compared to males due to high BMI and gestational diabetes. The knowledge on Type II diabetes among African American in Detroit was based on personal and family experiences as opposed to professional training.  They defined diabetes regarding sugar and had limited awareness of cumbersome disease process. Therefore, they needed nutritional and food preparation skills.  The population had a sense of denial because they most individuals were reluctant to accept that they were at risk of the disease.  They also did not take care of risk factors or preventive strategies like weight management, and co-morbidities control.  Besides, family history was a strong influence on beliefs and attitude, especially about perceived risks.  Disease understanding was majorly associated with observation of family members experiences with Type II diabetes and other health consequences.  The family members and friends support concerning the relevance of healthy behaviours like diet and exercise was the key factor that helped in the prevention of diabetes.

Summary

Type II diabetes was a fundamental health concern among African Americans in Detroit, Michigan.  Key issues identified was lack of accurate knowledge concerning diabetes risks and prevention.  On an individual basis, education of the community members regarding type II diabetes prevention as well as health promotion is vital.  There is also the need for the recognition of the importance of cultural competency in the delivery and access to health services.  The reason is that it plays a unique role in the interventions designed for the elimination of Type II diabetes prevalence in African American communities. In conclusion, the use of community-based participatory strategy in connection to the PEN-3 model in the screening of Type II diabetes among African American population in Detroit is a valuable approach.  The utilization of population of interest in the solution to diabetes problems in Michigan offered an opportunity for researchers to learn from community and verify requirements of African American population the U.S to curb diabetes and other health issues.

 

 

 

 

References

Feathers, F.& Wisdom, K. (2015). Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health   (REACH) Detroit partnership: improving diabetes-related outcomes among African    American and Latino adults. American journal of public health, 95(9), 1552-1560.

Gregory, P. C., & Nordheim, U. (2016). CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonists for treatment        of obesity and prevention of comorbid metabolic disorders. Journal of medicinal   chemistry, 49(14), 4008-4016

Heuman, A. & Wilkinson, K. (2013). African American populations at risk in developing diabetes: sociocultural and familial challenges in promoting a healthy diet. Health          communication, 28(3), 260-274.

Lorentz, N., & Le Bihan, E. (2015). Life satisfaction, cardiovascular risk factors, unhealthy          behaviours and socioeconomic inequality, 5 years after coronary angiography. BMC            public health, 15(1), 668.

Sacks, D. B., & Coresh, J. (2014). Trends in prevalence and control of diabetes in the United        States, 1988–1994 and 1999–2010. Annals of internal medic

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