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Health Literacy and Health Disparities Paper

Melissa Marie Alvarez

Galen College of Nursing

NSG 3200: Health Promotion

Professor Kimberly Clabaugh

November 16, 2022

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Health disparities affect a large population in the US. Healthy People 2030 (n.d.) defines a health

disparity as "a particular type of health difference closely linked with social, economic, and

environmental disadvantage. According to the American Medical Association (AMA, n.d.), Recent studies

have shown that despite the improvements in the overall health of the country, racial and ethnic

minorities experience a lower quality of health care—they are less likely to receive routine medical care

and face higher rates of morbidity and mortality than nonminority. As nurses, health literacy and health

disparities are essential to nursing and the healthcare industry. Nurses can directly impact literacy and

education by teaching patients at every encounter, from hospitals to private doctors' offices. I have

chosen diabetes as my Healthy People 2030 topic, and reducing the number of diabetes cases diagnosed

yearly as my objective for Health Promotion (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

[ODPHP], n.d.). Diabetes can directly be affected through education, or the lack thereof. In this paper, I

will explain the health disparities concerning diabetes, strategies to minimize those disparities, and three

evidence-based education strategies to help with literacy on diabetes.

Health Disparities

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. There are many

disparities among minorities that suffer from diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC, 2022), across the United States, some racial and ethnic minority groups and groups

with lower socioeconomic status have historically had higher rates of illness and death from diabetes

than White people, and this gap has not substantially narrowed. These disparities directly affect the

quality of care these groups receive. Due to a lack of insurance, these groups do not have access to

monitoring supplies and costly medications needed to manage diabetes, therefore leading to

complications and death from diabetes. According to Healthy People 2030 (n.d.), the highest groups of

new diabetes diagnoses include minorities like non-Hispanics, Hispanics, Native Americans/Alaskan

natives (not Hispanic), and people of two or more races (not Hispanic). These groups tend to have the

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most significant health disparities due to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and education level.

Promoting health literacy and providing government-funded outreach programs geared towards

achieving health equity can help minorities with earlier screening for prediabetes, along with education

and resources that can help minimize risk factors and provide healthier lifestyle choices to prevent

diabetes.

Healthcare Strategies

There are many strategies to promote health literacy and health equity in the US regarding

diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the right lifestyle changes can prevent new diabetes diagnoses

yearly. According to the CDC (2022), there are several strategies they are working towards to promote

health equity concerning diabetes. CDC helps organizations increase access to the National Diabetes

Prevention Program, a lifestyle change program for those at risk for type 2 diabetes. The Division of

Diabetes Translation (DDT) is committed to helping populations with health disparities have access to

diabetes self-management education and support programs, which are proven to be successful in

managing diabetes but are underutilized due to a lack of healthcare in low-income areas. Also, another

strategy is explicitly geared toward Native Americans/Alaskan Natives, who are the highest risk group

and the highest in new diabetes diagnoses yearly, in ways to lower risk factors for type 2 diabetes that

honor their culture and integrate it with western medicine (CDC, 2022). These and other strategies are in

place to reduce health disparities among minorities and provide the health literacy needed to prevent

new diabetes diagnoses yearly among these at-risk populations.

Evidence-Based Education Strategies

There are many strategies to educate patients. Education is one of the essential roles of a nurse.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that benefits significantly from proper patient education. The disease

progression can slow based on the patient's daily lifestyle choices. The following education strategies are

evidence-based and are what I would choose to promote health concerning diabetes. First, I would

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create easy-to-read patient education materials (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ],

2020). These materials would be a good resource for patients to refer to when they need help making

choices regarding diet, exercise, or medications. It would provide written information and other websites

offering easy-to-read and understandable information if there are any questions. Secondly, I would use

the teach-back method (AHRQ, 2020). This evidence-based strategy is an excellent tool to assess if

patients understand what they are being educated on from nursing. With this method, the nurse would

teach the patient and then request for the patient to do a return demonstration and assist with anything

needed or misunderstood by the patient. The last strategy would be follow-up (AHRQ, 2020). I believe

that follow-up is critical. It shows genuine interest in the patient and their well-being. A nurse would call

the patient or visit them at their home and check on their progress, offer to answer any questions, or

provide any additional resources as needed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, health disparities are still an issue today concerning diabetes. Minorities are the

most prominent groups to have new diabetes diagnoses per year. Due to a lack of resources and

education because of no insurance or because of costs, these populations of people do not get

diagnosed promptly, leading to diabetes diagnosis increases. There are programs to help lower these

disparities by providing evidence-based programs and resources to minority groups who do not usually

have access to healthcare, lowering new diabetes diagnoses yearly. As a nurse, we can do our part by

volunteering at health fairs and educating all the patients we encounter with diabetes or risk factors for

diabetes to help promote healthier lifestyles and prevent new diabetes diagnoses.

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References

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Health Equity in Healthy People 2030. U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2030.

https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/health-equity-healthy-people-

2030#:~:text=Healthy%20People%202030%20defines%20a%20health%20disparity%20as,closely

%20linked%20with%20social%2C%20economic%2C%20and%2For%20environmental

%20disadvantage.

American Medical Association. (2020). Reducing disparities in health care. https://www.ama-

assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/reducing-disparities-health-care

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Diabetes. U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, Healthy People 2030. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-

data/browse-objectives/diabetes

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Advancing Health Equity.

https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/health-equity/index.html

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Assess, Select, and Create Easy-to-Understand

Materials: Tool #11. https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/tool11.html

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Use the Teach-Back Method: Tool #5.

https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/tool5.html

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Follow Up with Patients: Tool #6.

https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/tool6.html

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