Living With Diabetes

Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The disease affects an estimated 18.2 million people, 5.2 million are unaware they have the disease and an additional 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Diabetes is greater in minority populations over age 20: 8.4%million Whites, 11.4% million Blacks, 8.2 Hispanics. Heart disease is the leading cause of deaths among people living with diabetes. Preventive practices such as diet, exercise, smoking cessation, eye examination ad annual checkups can prevent or delay the incidence of diabetes related complications. A study conducted by Carol R. Williams Oladele and Elizabeth Barnett utilized the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine racial/ethnic disparities in recommended practices for diabetes. The study results suggested that health education and promotion targeted toward minority populations have been effective. The study recommends future research to examine the influence types of insurance have on the access to laboratory preventive care practices. Reference: Barnett E, Oladele C R. (2006). Racial/ethnic and social class differences in preventive care practices among persons with diabetes. BMC Public Health. http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/6599_pnt

Quad Council

The Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations is an alliance of the four national nursing organizations:

• Association of Community Health Nurse Educators (ACHNE)
• American Nurses Association's Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics (ANA)
• American Public Health Association - Public Health Nursing Section (APHA)
• Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing (ASTDN).

The purpose of the Quad Council is to address public health nursing issues.

The Quad Council has drafted a set of national public health nursing competencies utilizing the Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice(COL) Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals. They applied these competencies to two levels of public health nursing practice: staff nurse/generalist and manager/specialist/consultant role. The Quad Council's Public Health Nurse Competencies is designed to be used with and compliment the "Definition of Public Health Nursing" adopted by the APHA.

In the midst of the nursing shortage the shortage of public health nurses in particular needs to be addressed. According to research by the Quad Council some of the specific reasons for the shortage of public health nurses are:

• Overall shortage of registered nurses;
• An aging population;
• Poorly funded Public health System on a national, state and local level that result in inadequate salaries;
• Reduction and/or elimination of public health nursing positions;
• Shortage of nurse faculty adequately prepared to teach public health nursing;
• Invisibility of public health nursing to media and marketing campaigns.

Welcome To My Blog

Welcome to my blog. My name is Enest Richards and I am currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Nursing with a concentration in Education at Mercy College. I have been a registered nurse for over 20 years and have a Masters in Public Health. My nursing career has focused on Public and Community Health, as staff nurse, Administrator, Quality Manager and Home Care Surveyor. With my background in Public Health, I feel strongly that this important field needs to integrated early in the nursing curriculum As patients are spending less time in the acute hospital setting and people are choosing to live in the community as opposed to long term care facilities, there is a need to prepare nurses for careers in community and public health.