Caring for the Elderly Adult with Diabetes Research Paper

Caring for the Elderly Adult with Diabetes - Research Paper Example There are a number of important nursing practise points that are important in providing good care for elderly adults with diabetes and their families. There are a number of reasons for choosing this topic. Firstly, diabetes affects almost 2.4 million Canadians (Government of Canada, 2011) and many more are thought to be undiagnosed. Not only that, but patients with diabetes are three times more likely to be hospitalized due to cardiac disease and twenty times more likely to need a non-trauma lower limb amputation (Government of Canada, 2011). Although these are just statistics, they do give a real feel for the potentially devastating impact that diabetes can have on the elderly adult and their families, and I think it’s increasingly important (as chronic disease becomes more common) to understand the best nursing practise guidelines to help prevent the complications of diabetes. Not only that, but many family members are not aware of the problems that diabetes can cause, and t herefore it’s important that a nurse is well-informed to answer questions about diabetes to allow best care in the home. The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) have issued a number of guidelines with respect to practical nursing and adults with diabetes mellitus. One of these concerns the best practise in reducing foot complications, which includes foot care education for the patient as well as frequent check-ups. Another guideline concerns best management of foot ulcers in diabetes patient. The final guideline concerns the subcutaneous administration of insulin in adults with type 2 diabetes, which is particularly important in that patients and families may need to be educated on this as maintenance of insulin levels is vital (RNAO, 2011). The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) also publish guidelines for the utilization of nurses working with adults with diabetes, and suggest that nurses may play an important role in directing diabetes management progra ms for the patient as well as advising patients on other matters (CNO, 2011). Evidently, practical nursing care needs to incorporate aspects of diabetes management, in part because it is so common and in part because the nurse can play such a vital role in preventing complications Evidently, the topic of diabetes is important to the sufferer and their family, as they will wish to know as much about the condition as they can to help prevent complications and to ensure that they stay as healthy as possible (Rother, 2007). In understanding diabetes management and care, the patient can ensure that they follow medication protocol, have a healthy diet and watch closely for signs of foot ulcers, vision loss and other complications (Rother, 2007). By doing this, the patient can inevitably prolong their life, and perhaps even reduce the severity of their diabetes (Ceriello, Ihnat & Thorpe, 2009). Both the patient and the relevant family members may need to be guided on how to intravenously i nject insulin if it is needed for their care, as this can be a complex procedure and is important in management of some cases (Rother, 2007). All of these issues have been highlighted by the RNAO Best Practice Guideline mentioned above, and therefore all nurses should be aware of how important it is for the patient and th