Essay Sample on Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes or as conventionally known, diabetes mellitus 2 has been on the rise around the world, and this can be attributed to the dramatic shift in eating patterns and habits, reduced physical activities in the lifestyles of individuals, increased processed foods that are often fast foods as well as genetic factors. The current medical era has pronounced type 2 diabetes as incurable, but the silver lining in this heartbreaking revelation is the fact that many cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable, and once exhibited by a person, they can be managed through self-care and medication. Self-care behaviors among people with diabetes include the adopting of a healthy balanced diet, adherence to medication plans as dictated by the physician, indulging in physical exercise and the regular and consistent monitoring of HbA1C levels and blood glucose (Chourdakis, Kontogiannis, Malachas, Pliakas & Kritis, 2014). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the younger populations of the United States has been alarming with about 208,000 youths below the age of 20 diagnosed with the disease, out of the comprehensive 29.1 million people with type 2 diabetes (National Institutes of Health, 2017). It is therefore critical to explore the restoration of the type 2 diabetes client's self-care capability by educating young adults on type 2 diabetes and medication adherence. This will be done by looking at different theories.

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The Theory of Nursing Goals and Functions

The Environmental Theory

The nurse has been placed at the center of the various interventions aimed at managing type 2 diabetes in patients. These interventions include the administration of medication, recommendations for healthy eating as well as physical; exercise. Florence Nightingale came up with the environmental theory that presented the recovery of a patient as a product of the patient, the environment, health, and nursing practice. The environment has been considered as the external environments surrounding an organism that can suppress, prevent, or contribute to diseases as well as death. The function of the nurse has therefore been categorized as that of creating a balance in the environment, in a way that maximizes on the energy of the patient to enable them to recover from diseases (Medeiros, Enders & Carvalho Lira, 2015). The nurse, therefore, has to provide a stimulating environment characterized by elements that add up to the development of the patient's health. The nursing practice is thus dedicated at maintaining the patient's environment in a way that ensures cleanliness, ventilation, lighting, heat, patient comfort, provision of stimulation and nutrition as well as observing patient record and recording these observations. Nightingale believed that every individual could control their lives in a way that guarantees perfect health. The person, nature and the nurse are hence presented as there enmities that collaborate to ensure reparative measures are attained, and it is the role of the nurse to prevent any interruptions that might hinder these reparative interventions.

The Behavioral Model

Within the same theory of nursing goals and functions are several assumptions from different philosophers. Virginia Henderson, for instance, presented several patient needs that needed to be met by the nurse, and these included grooming, dressing, performing bodily functions effectively, movement, resting, among others. The nurse is given the responsibility to facilitate the satisfaction of the safety, bodily, and self-actualization needs of the patient in a way that helps them acquire independence (Butts & Rich, 2018). The behavioral system model is another approach towards the roles of a nurse in the recovery process of a patient. This is a model coined by Dorothy Johnson that considered the patient as a behavioral system that is comprised on seven sub-systems of behavior among them affiliation, ingestion, dependency, aggression, sexual, elimination, and achievement. Any misbalance in these subsystems results in disequilibrium, and it is hence the role of a nurse to maintain an equilibrium. Health promotion similarly takes center stage in the roles of a nurse as depicted by Nola Pender. It is hence the role of the nurse to raise consciousness that will facilitate health promotion, self-efficacy, controlling the environment, enhancing benefits derived from changes as well as managing and eradicating barriers to change.

Implications of the Theory of Nursing Goals and Functions

The implications of the theory of nursing goals and function in the education of young people regarding self-care and medication are that by understanding the impacts of the environment ion the recovery process, the young people should be educated on how to utilize this environment as a factor towards their recovery, include exercising and dietary adjustment. Among the forms of control to the environment include controlling blood glucose, nutrition, insulin self-regulation and preventing further complications (Belkis, Maribel, Freddy, Manuel, 2018). Behavioral components must also be emphasized.

Theory of System Approach

General System Theory

For any positive outcomes to be attained regarding patient recovery, the healthcare system must be designed in a way that expands and enhances care delivery. The general systems theory has hence been formulated to present the vitality of the functionality of these systems. This theory is derived from thermodynamics and asserts that the world is composed of different interrelated systems that require energy to be maintained (Butts & Rich, 2018). Any dysfunctionality in one system results in the disequilibrium of the others. The Roy adaptation model has similarly been utilized. This is a model based on the philosophical, scientific, and cultural dimensions. The philosophical assumption in this model asserts to a relationship formed by people with the world, as well as a God-figure. People often utilize their creative abilities of enlightenment, awareness, and faith in processes of deriving, transforming, and sustaining the universe. Scientific assumptions present system relationships as entailing protecting, acceptance, and independence (Jennings, 2017). The integration of the human factor and the environment factor of a system creates adaptation. The nurse within such a system must hence assess behavior and stimuli of the patient, partake diagnosis, goals setting, intervention, and evaluation. The Roy adaptation model presents adaptation as a way of conserving energy that helps them cope and heal.

Neuman System Model

The Neuman system model was established by Betty Neuman and focused on the clients' responses to environmental stressors, and it's based on wholeness and reality. The patient is an open system and is hence composed of patterns of input, process, output, and feedback (Butts & Rich, 2018). An individual is defined by five variables among them the spiritual, psychological, physiological, developmental, and sociocultural. Homeostatic can only be attained when the energy within the system exceeds that spent by the system. Primary intervention to such a system includes helping the client deal with the stressors; secondary intervention focuses on protecting their basic structures while tertiary interventions enable reconstitute them.

Implications

Type 2 diabetes is thus considered as a presentation of the dysfunctionality in the system of an individual. This disequilibrium can be in terms of their behaviors and patterns in eating, exercising, or even medication. It is thus the responsibility of the nurse to understand the complexities of this disequilibrium, understand the purpose of the patients, and help them attain these purposes through the application of knowledge. Responses to stressors often result in alterations in eating habits as some individuals are emotional eaters. Therefore, understanding this helps a nurse address the issue at its core, and hence recommend alternative stress coping mechanisms such as therapy or workouts. This will ensure the disequilibrium is addressed, and the patient is restored and reconstituted.

Theory of Competencies and Skills

Knowledge is power. This is a premise that is actively applied in the nursing field. Without skills and clinical competencies, a nurse is as unhelpful and naive as the patient. Patricia Benner came up with a model "from novice-to-expert' as a framework that explains the development of skills and competencies in nurses. This process is gradual and is attained through a combination of personal experiences as well as educational foundations. Nursing demands for proficiency and experience (Oshvandi, Moghadam, Khatiban, Cheraghi, Borzu, Moradi, 2016). This is a gradual process that commences from being a novice to an advanced beginner, and then becoming competent, proficient, and finally an expert. A nurse thus depends on the patient, their educational experiences, and personal experiences to deliver quality care.

Caring and managing for patients with type 2 diabetes requires a particular set of skills and knowledge regarding the pathophysiology, etiology, signs, and symptoms and prognosis of the disorder. Educational programs and community interventions regarding type 2 diabetes requires the nurses to be well acquainted with the demographic needs of the population, the skills necessary to reach the target population, and in this case the young people, as well as the knowledge on different medical interventions and alternatives

Theory of Focus on Caring

Nursing As Caring Theory

Safe and quality healthcare is often a product of the focus of care within such settings. Nursing as caring is a theory that was proposed by Savina Schoenhoefer Anne Boykin, and it involves the view of nursing as a body of knowledge that enables the nurse professionals to respond to their duties effectively. Personhood is emphasized in this theory, and therefore, nursing is designed to present responses and solutions that enhance and advance personhood (Butts & Rich, 2018). Interpersonal relations are critical for this to be attained. All people are caring. Therefore, the nurse has to understand this, and hence understand how these people can be strengthened, supported, and sustained. This kind of relationship has been the primary initiation for the needs of the patient as it helps them open up and share their issues with the nurses. Nurses must be in a position to recognize the calls from their patients, and authentically be there for them, actively listen to their predicaments and be sensitive about their situations. Applying this to the issue of educating young people about type 2 diabetes self-care and medication, the nurses must be present as caring elements to the circumstances that these individuals go through. Many cases often have diabetes patients be victimized for their poor lifestyle choices, failure to adhere to specific dietary recommendations. Others might be facing issues of inability to endure the self-injections. Therefore, a nurse must be aware of the care they owe to themselves as well as their need for a caring physician.

Theory of Suffering

The praxis Theory of Suffering

Illness and disorders are usually accompanied by various levels and forms of pain and suffering. The praxis theory of suffering was designed to explain ways that nurses could help reduce the suffering of their patients through interactions. There exists a significant difference between pain and suffering. Suffering is the experience felt by patients when they attribute their pain as a threat. Morse, the founder of this theory, presents two basic types of suffering, the enduring and emotional suffering.