Diabetes Education Public Health Diabetes

Diabetes Education

Public health Diabetes

Arizona: Diabetes programming and services

As is the case throughout the United States, the prevalence of diabetes has been rapidly escalating in the state of Arizona. The Arizona Diabetes Coalition was developed "to reduce the burden of diabetes on individuals, families, communities, the health care system, and Arizona. This is done by increasing awareness of diabetes, advocating for and promoting policies and programs that improve access to care, treatment, and outcomes for people with diabetes and those at risk for developing diabetes" (Arizona Diabetes Coalition, 2013, ADHS). The Arizona Diabetes Coalition releases bulletins offering suggestions on healthy meal planning and maintains a website intended to inform the public of the symptoms and seriousness of the disease. The focus of the Arizona Diabetes Coalition is threefold: advocacy (raising awareness among public policy makers); community-based education for adults and young people; and surveillance (keeping track of statistics on the disease within the state) (Arizona Diabetes Coalition, 2013, ADHS).

For health professionals, the Arizona Diabetes Coalition recently hosted a webinar on the disease, to increase both detection and reporting. The state offers a series of free self-management training centers for patients, a list of which can be found on the website. These programs inform recently-diagnosed diabetics how to manage their illness and also provide assistance to persons having trouble managing the illness, even if they have been suffering longer. Community health centers in the state offer treatment for individuals without health insurance on a 'sliding scale,' based upon the individual's ability to pay, and Central Arizona college offers an online course on diabetes treatment. As well as providing links to state-specific programs, the website offers links to outside resources such as the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the American Diabetes Association -- Arizona Affiliate, both of which run programs for recently-diagnosed diabetics (Self-management education, 2013, Arizona). For the indigenous population, which historically has had a higher rate of diabetes than non-native persons, there are specific Indian Health Services resources listed on the website.

Thus, Arizona's state health department has made a proactive effort both to provide social services to diabetes to help them manage their illness, as well as created bridges the wider healthcare community to support diabetes education. The main fault to be found with this approach is the focus on treatment, versus prevention. Type II diabetes is the form of the disorder which has been escalating rapidly, and this disease is linked to obesity, a high-sugar and highly caloric diet, and inactivity. Promoting healthy eating and exercise amongst vulnerable populations is essential. The Arizona Health Department does provide educational resources in the form of pamphlets, but does not specifically talk about creating healthy lunch and exercise programs in the schools or working to redesign urban spaces to make them more movement-friendly for pedestrians.