Don't Sugarcoat It: Diabetes Mellitus Prevention and WOC Nursing

Background/Purpose/Framework: Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (DMT2) is a national and worldwide epidemic that is quiet, deadly, and expensive. Over 100 million Americans are either diabetic or pre-diabetic. ¹   WOC nurse clinicians are facing a tsunami of chronic disease and associated wounds if prevention efforts are not enacted. The purpose of this study was to investigate available prevention resources and generate an online digital compendium for wound care clinicians targeting diabetes prevention services. Health promotion, disease prevention, and action research frameworks guided design and implementation of the study.

Methods: (Design, Sample, Setting, Measures, Analysis)

Descriptive design, using both survey approaches and internet-searching techniques, was used to identify and scrutinize diabetes prevention resources available for wound clinician referral. Internet sources were analyzed at local, regional, state, and federal levels and included public and private initiatives. Diabetes treatment services were also catalogued. Attendees at two statewide public health meetings targeting diabetes were surveyed about their knowledge of diabetes-related services.

Results: Five levels of primary prevention services (federal, state, county, health care system, and private organizations/agencies) were identified and organized in a digitally available document.  ²  Diabetes treatment resources were treated similarly. Notably, treatment services far outweighed prevention resources in both availability and access for insured and uninsured parties. High-risk pre-diabetics and diabetics who were impoverished and/or uninsured could not access prevention services despite wound care provider recommendations.

Conclusions/Implications

Wound care providers now have a digital resource they can easily access to ascertain diabetes prevention and treatment care. However, treatment services far outnumber prevention resources. Diabetes prevention services on the internet were limited, often outdated, or incomplete. National and regional health systems are currently a “sickness care” system, not focused on health promotion and disease prevention. Implications for WOC nursing wound prevention practices, education, and future health policy approaches are posed.