Diabetes is adisease that is affecting millions of Americans today. Statistics show that amajority of those living with the disease are diagnosed but a fairly largenumber are undiagnosed. It is a disease that can be managed through clinicalinterventions and a change of dietary and exercising habits. Therefore, it isimportant for those living with the disease to be diagnosed to receive theright treatment and care. Diabetes affects certain ages more than others withtype 1 diabetes mostly affecting the younger age group and type 2 the olderone. It is also more widespread in some communities with Caucasian Americansbeing affected at a lower rate and African and Indian Americans suffering themost. The adoption of behavioral, cultural, and social interventions could helplessen the frequency of the disease among American populations.
Description and Symptoms
Diabetes is a diseasethat makes the patient unable to absorb properly and store glucose in theirbody. It is related to a person’s ability to produce insulin which helpsregulate the absorption and storage of sugar and glucose in the body. Type 1Diabetes occurs in individuals who are unable to produce insulin. Type 2Diabetes, on the other hand, occurs in people that are unable to produce adequateamounts of insulin. People suffering from Diabetes have extra sugar in theirblood system which often leads to high blood pressure. Diabetics often takeinsulin to control their blood sugar and blood pressure. They can lead normal, active lives as long as they control their diet and exercise correctly.Frequent urination, being overly tired and weak, experiencing thirstfrequently, constant hunger, blurred vision, weight loss and having a tinglyfeeling in the feet are some common symptoms of Diabetes (Lindstron &Rossini, 2004).
Statistics
As said, an individualcan be affected by either Diabetes 1 or Diabetes 2. The first mostly affectsthe younger population, mostly teenagers and young adults and the secondaffects an older age group. National Diabetics Statistics from (the?) CDC show that anestimated 29.1 million people in the US were Diabetic in 2014 (CDC, 2014). 21million of these were diagnosed while 8.1 million people went undiagnosed (CDC,2014). Those that were 65 years or older were the most segment of the populationthat was affected by Diabetics(this sentence is a little confusing). 45 to 65-year-olds came in next with 16.2% of those within the age range suffering from the disease. 4.1 % of thosebetween the ages of 20- 44 were affected by disease (CDC, 2014). Diabetesaffects both genders. It, however, seems to affect men more than it affectswomen with current data showing that 13.6% of all men in America suffer fromthe disease as compared to 11.2% of all the women in the country (CDC, 2014).Diabetes seems to mostly affect the ethnic minorities in the country. CaucasianAmericans are the least affected group with a percentage of 7.6 based oninformation from the National Statistics on Diabetes (CDC, 2014). AmericanIndians are the most affected community with a percentage of 15. 9 (CDC, 2014).They are closely followed by African Americans at 13.2%, Hispanics at 12.8% andAsian Americans at 9% (CDC, 2014, P. 2).
Biology, Cultural, Social and other Factors that CauseDiabetes
Genes play a huge part inmaking one at risk to diabetes. This means that an individual is more likely toget diabetes if they have certain gene factors and less likely to get thedisease if they lack certain gene factors (NIDDK, 2014). This is true for bothtype 1 and type 2 Diabetes. An individual with a family history of diabetes ismore likely to get the disease. As said, diabetes affects certain races on alarger percentage compared to other races. For example, an African-Americanismore likely to get diabetes as compared to a Caucasian American. Possessingcertain genes that affect one to the risk of getting the disease can be seen asa genetic factor exposing the individual to the disease. Rick Kittler talked about this issue of racein a conference that I recently attended. He spoke of how this topic is oftenavoided due to the negative issues that have surrounded it in our country. He,however, stated that it was a crucial topic in healthcare since some diseaseshad to be looked at within this scope.
Another usual factor thatcould put one in danger of getting diabetes is a genetic trend to be overweightor obese. Cultural empathy is so very important for diabetes care. Healthcareproviders have to be familiar with the beliefs, norms, and practices that arecommon in ethnic communities that are more affected by the disease to ensurethat their services are efficient and effective (AADE, 2015). Kenneth Resnicow addressed the issue ofobesity especially in African Americans. He recognized ethnic background to bea major influence in the lifestyle chosen by an individual. I found the “eatfor life” concept to be very eye opening since obesity is really widespread inAfrican Americans which ultimately leads to diabetes. The fruit and vegetablebased intervention he advocates for could (seems out of place here) so be useful in solving the issue ofobesity among African Americans and in dealing with the problem of Diabetes.
The behavioral and socialconditions in ( i think it should be “of” instead of which) whichan individual’s life have been known to determine their vulnerabilityto diabetes, specially Diabetes 2. Individuals who lack a healthyexercise and dietary routine are more likely to get the disease. Lack of enoughsleep is also more likely to increase one’s likelihood of getting the disease.These behavioral issues might increase one’s risk to get diabetes because theylead to obesity and being overweight. Adopting healthy behavioral practicesmight decrease the chances of an individual getting the disease. Socialfactors, including where one is born, grows, lives, works, and age have alsodetermined their risk of contracting Diabetes. These (factors) determine an individual’sincome, education level, access to nutritious food and good housing therebyincreasing or reducing their chances of getting Diabetes (Hill, Nielsen &Fox, 2013).
Diabetes might also seemto be socially and economically graded. Persons with low education levels aremore likely to have low incomes. They are likely to develop chronic stress dueto the challenges they face in getting their basic needs. This increases theirblood pressure and may over time increase the chance of being obese and gettingDiabetes 2. Having low-income levels affects how patients get access tohealthcare. Those suffering from diabetes are faced with healthcare costs whichcut into their income more straining their incomes. Having a stressful workenvironment can also have the same effect as those mentioned above one (not sure what this means?)(Hill,Nielsen & Fox, 2013). Regulating the social condition where one occurs is solikely to reduce their chance of becoming diabetic.
Intervention Mechanisms
The first intervention mechanism I would recommend inreducing the frequency of diabetes would be applying clinical strategies thathelp diabetics to manage the disease. I would encourage promoting communityprograms which encourage diabetics to take their daily shots of insulin tomanage the disease. If one takes the required medication faithfully, they canbe able to live long healthy lives. Another way of managing the disease throughtreatment would be through encouraging those who are at risk of getting thedisease to get tested that they can be able to start treatment early. Accordingto recent statistics, there are millions of people who are undiagnosed inAmerica. Specifically, 8.1 million people are undiagnosed (CDC, 2014). Thismeans that there is still quite a huge group of diabediabetics who are yet tostart treatment for the disease. Encouraging diagnosis and treatment should bethe first step to be taken in an effort to manage the disease in the country.

The community programs tobe started would target at-risk groups in an effort to ensure that they reachas many people as possible. Organizing educational platforms in areas where peopleare likely to collect would be effective in passing the intended messageacross. For example, healthcare providers could partner with schools, churchesand community committees to arrange for education forums targeting both thediagnosed and undiagnosed diabetics. Members of the community could be givenall the important information that might help control the disease such as thesigns and symptoms of diabetes, the risk factors such as those that arebiological. They could set up free testing centers along these workshops andeducational forums to encourage those showing any signs and symptoms to gettested.
In addition to having theeducation forums targeting those that are diagnosed and those who areundiagnosed with diabetes, healthcare providers might also target those who aregenerally at risk. This will give them an opportunity to share with themfirst-hand information on how behavioral practices can increase one’s chancesof suffering from diabetes. The practitioners could use this forum to underlinethe benefits of living an active and healthy lifestyle to avoid obesity andother health problems which increase one’s risk of getting diabetes. The most obviouschallenge for healthcare providers would be getting the targeted audience toattend these forums for them to receive the information and services offered.
In the event that the above-mentionedfactors worked, there would be a reduction in the number of those who areundiagnosed with diabetes. The health and lifestyle of those at risk and thecommunity at large would improve greatly leading to a reduced number of obese diabeticindividuals. On the other hand, if they fail to manage the disease as desired,more careful measures will have to be taken. It would be wise to come up with actionswhich deal with the root problem of the disease. Coming up with plans thatwould address the social and cultural issues that increase the risks of gettingthe disease, in combination with the community approach geared towards increasingbehavioral change would help manage it. This would need joining up withgovernment and other anxious agencies in helping improve the living conditions,income and education level of those who are at risk of getting the disease.
Conclusion
Behavioral interventionscould help lessen the occurrence of diabetes in America. A community approachcould be taken to promote better behavioral practices that would reduce at-riskindividual’s chances of getting the disease. The community approach would alsoserve to encourage those who are at risk to get tested to reduce the number ofthose who are undiagnosed in the country. A campaign to encourage treatment andcare could then be undertaken to ensure that those suffering from the diseasecan better manage it. A reduction in the number of undiagnosed diabetics wouldindicate that the intervention strategies are successful. Partnership with thegovernment and other participant to help deal with cultural and social contributingfactors would further improve the management of the disease in the country.

References
American Association ofDiabetics Educators AADE. (2015). Cultural Considerations in DiabeticsEducation. Retrieved fromhttps://www.diabeteseducator.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/cultural-considerations-in-diabetes-management.pdf?sfvrsn=0
CDC, (2014). NationalDiabetes Statistics Report, 2014. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report-web.pdf
Hill, J., Nielsen, M.& Fox, M. (2013). Understanding the social factors that contribute toDiabetes: A means to informing Healthcare and Social Policies of thechronically ill. The Permanente Journal 17(3), 67-72. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662286/
Linstrom, R. &Rossini, A. The Diabetes Handbook. Boston, USA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
National Institute ofDiabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK). (2014). Causes of Diabetes.Retrieved fromhttps://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/Diabetes/causes-diabetes/Pages/index.aspx