Discussion: Health Policy - Public Health

Discussion: Health Policy – Public Health

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General formatting requirements: All assignments should be done in 12-point font, double spaced. If referencing material outside of the course, use an accepted referencing format (e.g., APA or MLA style). All material from outside the course must be appropriately referenced or it will be considered plagiarism. Discussion: Health Policy – Public Health

Assignment 5 (Weeks 10-11):

In the last assignment (assignment attached), you have identified a public health problem and prepared a list of program or policy alternatives to alleviate it. You have also chosen some criteria and assigned a weight to each criterion. In this assignment, (1) project the corresponding outcome for each program or policy alternative and use evidence to evaluate each alternative according to the chosen criteria. (2) Given the assigned weighting, determine which alternative would be the best program or policy that you would recommend. Use a matrix table to demonstrate your decision process. Discussion: Health Policy – Public Health

(You need to include a matrix of policy options and criteria as described in the Bardach text. A demonstrative example of the matrix table is provided as below. You also need to elaborate how you project the outcomes of each criterion and what recommendation you would make based on your matrix table. This should be no more than two pages in length.)

	Cost (30%)	Political feasibility (30%)	Efficacy (30%)	Health equity (10%)
Option 1: x	$100,000	High	10% reduction in disease incidence	Improved
Option 2: y	$30,000	Low	%5 reduction in disease incidence	Improved
Option 3: z	$75,000	Medium	8% reduction in disease incidence	No change

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Current Public Health Problem

Bianca Lorenzo

PHC6102 – Fall 2018

Diabetes in the USA and Policy Recommendations

Many countries and communities all over the world are faced with a number of issues of public health concern. Governments and other healthcare organizations are constantly formulating and putting into effect various policies in a bid to either prevent or reduce the burden of some of these health problems. Some of the major public health issues include the following: Diabetes, Arthritis, Heart related diseases, HIV/AIDS as well as liver and gall bladder related diseases.[1] This paper provides a brief overview of Diabetes, one of the major issues of public health concern. A brief background information about the disease and the various policies adopted in the control of the disease has been provided as well as the criterion in formulating other policy recommendations. Discussion: Health Policy – Public Health

Diabetes

This is a health condition in which the body’s ability to produce the hormone insulin is impaired leading to increased blood sugar levels, usually as a result of poor carbohydrate metabolism.[2] Diabetes is an issue of great concern not only in the USA but throughout the world with both children and adults being at risk. Approximately one million Americans are diagnosed with this medical condition annually.[3] The condition has been classified as either type one or type two diabetes.

Diabetes Epidemiology, Population and Economic Impact

According to the American Diabetes Association, close to thirty-one million Americans were reported to be suffering from diabetes, a figure that represents close to ten percent of the overall population of the United States of America.[4] The report further indicates that a big proportion of those diagnosed with the condition were suffering from type 2 diabetes, the most common one with only close to 1.5 million Americans having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.[5] Adults aged above sixty-fives years are at a higher diabetic risk as compared to youths and children. The severity of this condition lists it as the seven main cause of deaths in the United States. In the year 2015, approximately eighty thousand deaths in the US were directly attributed to diabetes.[6]

Diabetes has a major impact on the economy at the household as well as public level. Families of individuals suffering from this condition have to spend heavily in order to manage this condition. Of great significance is the money spent by governments across the globe in trying to adopt various ways of preventing this condition. The total costs incurred in managing the condition in US alone in 2017 was close to three hundred and thirty billion US dollars.[7] Costs incurred as a result of the reduction in productivity levels among the patients was estimated to be around ninety billion US dollars.[8]

Responses and Policy Options Adopted in the Prevention of Diabetes

A number of programs have been adopted by the US government in a bid to prevent or reduce the burden of diabetes in the country. One of these programs was the 2010-2015 vulnerable populations program that sought to reduce the risk of diabetes in poor populations.[9] Some of the major activities promoted by this program included encouragement of physical activities as well as educating citizens of proper nutrition. The US government has also adopted the STAT (Screen, Test, Act Today) program that aims at obtaining data on the current status of diabetes in the country by encouraging citizens to be screened for the condition.[10] Additionally, this program provides significant guidelines to the American citizens on the various ways of managing the condition. Those found to be at greater risk of diabetes are provided with various methods and ways of managing their lifestyle in a bid to either prevent or delay the rate of infection. There is also the National Diabetes Education Program whose main responsibility is provision of the important diabetes educational support to various cultures and populations in the United States of America.[11] This program utilizes efforts from both the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the National Institutes of Health.

Criteria to be considered in Diabetic Policy Recommendation

Policy formulation takes into consideration the efficacy, impartiality as well as the authorized and political satisfactoriness of the policy to be formulated. In formulation a diabetes policy recommendation, it is important for the policy makers to consider three main players, the population at large, healthcare organizations and the government.[12] Efforts from these three players are needed in order to significantly reduce the burden of diabetes in the country. Healthcare care data on diabetes from various hospitals can be used to weigh the diabetic public health impact. On the other hand, health equity can be weighed by estimating the number of different populations able to seek medical attention in the country as well as the various healthcare programs available for these communities. For instance, American Indians have been reported to be at a higher diabetic risk, amounting to sixteen percent of the affected individuals in the United States of America.[13] Among the recommended policies include the following; restriction of exposure to junk foods through proper labelling, formulation of tax policies on high risk foods and drinks as well as provision of physical activity programs in schools to promote regular exercise among children. The policy recommendations have been summarized in the table below. Discussion: Health Policy – Public Health

	Cost	Equitable	Feasibility
Proper junk food labelling	$0	Yes	10
Taxation of high risk foods	$0	Yes	10
Physical activity Programs in Schools	$0	Yes	10

References

American Diabetes Association. “Economic Costs of Diabetes in the US in 2017.” Diabetes care 41, no. 5 (2018): 917.

Gregg, Edward W., Yiling J. Cheng, Meera Srinivasan, Ji Lin, Linda S. Geiss, Ann L. Albright, and GiuseppinaImperatore. “Trends in cause-specific mortality among adults with and without diagnosed diabetes in the USA: an epidemiological analysis of linked national survey and vital statistics data.” The Lancet 391, no. 10138 (2018): 2430-2440.

Jacka, Felice N., Gary Sacks, Michael Berk, and Steven Allender. “Food policies for physical and mental health.” BMC psychiatry 14, no. 1 (2014): 132.

Powers, Margaret A., Joan Bardsley, Marjorie Cypress, Paulina Duker, Martha M. Funnell, Amy Hess Fischl, Melinda D. Maryniuk, Linda Siminerio, and Eva Vivian. “Diabetes self-management education and support in type 2 diabetes: a joint position statement of the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.” The Diabetes Educator 43, no. 1 (2017): 40-53.

Wilder-Smith, Annelies, Duane J. Gubler, Scott C. Weaver, Thomas P. Monath, David L. Heymann, and Thomas W. Scott. “Epidemic arboviral diseases: priorities for research and public health.” The Lancet infectious diseases 17, no. 3 (2017): e101-e10

[1]. Wilder-Smith, Annelies, Duane J. Gubler, Scott C. Weaver, Thomas P. Monath, David L. Heymann, and Thomas W. Scott. “Epidemic arboviral diseases: priorities for research and public health.” The Lancet infectious diseases 17, no. 3 (2017): e101-e106.

[2]. Gregg, Edward W., Yiling J. Cheng, Meera Srinivasan, Ji Lin, Linda S. Geiss, Ann L. Albright, and GiuseppinaImperatore. “Trends in cause-specific mortality among adults with and without diagnosed diabetes in the USA: an epidemiological analysis of linked national survey and vital statistics data.” The Lancet 391, no. 10138 (2018): 2430-2440.

[3]. Powers, Margaret A., Joan Bardsley, Marjorie Cypress, Paulina Duker, Martha M. Funnell, Amy Hess Fischl, Melinda D. Maryniuk, Linda Siminerio, and Eva Vivian. “Diabetes self-management education and support in type 2 diabetes: a joint position statement of the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.” The Diabetes Educator 43, no. 1 (2017): 40-53.

[4]. Powers, Margaret A., Joan Bardsley, Marjorie Cypress, Paulina Duker, Martha M. Funnell, Amy Hess Fischl, Melinda D. Maryniuk, Linda Siminerio, and Eva Vivian. “Diabetes self-management education and support in type 2 diabetes: a joint position statement of the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.” The Diabetes Educator 43, no. 1 (2017): 40-53.

[5]. Ibid

[6]. Ibid

[7]. American Diabetes Association. “Economic Costs of Diabetes in the US in 2017.” Diabetes care 41, no. 5 (2018): 917.

[8]. Ibid

[9]. Jacka, Felice N., Gary Sacks, Michael Berk, and Steven Allender. “Food policies for physical and mental health.” BMC psychiatry 14, no. 1 (2014): 132.

[10].Ibid

[11]. Ibid

[12]. Jacka, Felice N., Gary Sacks, Michael Berk, and Steven Allender. “Food policies for physical and mental health.” BMC psychiatry 14, no. 1 (2014): 132.

[13]. Gregg, Edward W., Yiling J. Cheng, Meera Srinivasan, Ji Lin, Linda S. Geiss, Ann L. Albright, and GiuseppinaImperatore. “Trends in cause-specific mortality among adults with and without diagnosed diabetes in the USA: an epidemiological analysis of linked national survey and vital statistics data.” The Lancet 391, no. 10138 (2018): 2430-2440.