National Health Priority Area (NHPA) In Singapore: Focusing On Diabetes

The NHPA Initiative in Singapore

The National Health Priority Area (NHPA) initiative is a collaborate effort of commonwealth, state and territory government. NHPA select significant expertise from government and non-governmental institutions so that it can be able to target diseases and conditions which are becoming life-threatening issues in Singapore. NHPA monitors the outcomes and progress of measures which are taken to control this conditions. The initiative also identifies the most appropriate cost effects points of intervention which can be made against these diseases. NHPA has the authority of the significant role of the government and non-governmental organization in fostering the adoption of the best practice to control this infection. Diabetes is among health priorities in Singapore; this is because it is a life-threatening issue in the country (Nankervis,McIntyre, Moses, Ross & Callaway, 2013). Diabetes is a severe infection which occurs when the patient body has challenges in regulating the amount of sugar which is produced in the body. For individuals and healthcare professionals to be able to understand this infection, it is significant for them to understand the role glucose plays in the body. It is, therefore, the role of NHPA to seek and come up with national policies which can be used to control the infection and its impacts on human’s body.

Diabetes is considered a health priority in Singapore because of the alarming rate in which its citizens are getting affected by the infection. Diabetes condition is a public health hazard in Singapore because it has changed half a million people in the country and it is also associated with other health complications. The infection is followed by high health cost for individuals to be able to control it (Phan et al., 2014). This becomes very difficult for people who are from poor backgrounds, and they cannot manage it. People from poor socio-economic backgrounds will develop this infection because of poor diets. It is a fact that in every day 280 citizens in Singapore are infected by diabetes which means in every five minutes an individual is affected by this infection. It has been reported that 440,000 residents aged 18 years and above had diabetes in 2014. According to Low et al. (2017), the disease is associated with various complications which makes it a health priority in the country. People aged between 18 to 69 years are most affected by the disease in Singapore. Between 25% and 35 % of individuals who are infected by diabetes develops blindness which can be prevented if they seek medical attention and follow the instructions which they are given by their healthcare professionals (Colosia, Palencia & Khan, 2013). Reports also indicate that there are more than 4400 amputations every year in Singapore as a result of diabetes. In the year 2015, more than a thousand people died in Singapore as a result of foot ulcers and lower limb wounds (Yuen & Wong, 2015). In every year over ten thousand patients who are admitted in Singapore hospitals due to diabetes have foot-related and ulcer issues. This makes diabetes to be one of the fastest growing chronic infection in Singapore as compared to other chronic diseases such as heart infections and cancer. All the types of diabetes are increasing with Type 1 diabetes increases with 10%, type 2 diabetes rising to 85% and gestational diabetes during pregnancy is also growing.

Why Diabetes is a Health Priority in Singapore

Diabetes in young children aged 12 to 18 years occurs when the body of the child is no longer able to produce essential hormones such as insulin. Young people in this age needs insulin in their bodies so that they can be able to survive so in case they are experiencing this health complication is the role of their parents and guardians to take them to hospitals so that they can be treated in which their missing insulin is replaced. They are mostly affected by Type 2 diabetes which at their age is also referred to as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes (Ng, Toh, Ko & Lee, 2015). In this age management of this infection is very complex, however, with time young adults aged between 12 to 18 years are taught on how to manage the disease on their own in which they have to learn how to use insulin injection. Parents are also advised to ensure that they provide a balanced diet to the children so that they can be able to manage the infection. To young adults, the disease is accompanied by some disturbing signs and symptoms. Genital yeast infections might infect young girls affected by type 1 diabetes. When the blood sugar level is high in the body of these young people, they may experience blurred vision, and they might not be able to focus clearly because of the fluid pulled from the lenses of the eye (Zhu et al., 2017). In Singapore, most young people who are aged between 12 and 18 years get this infection as the result of their bodies fighting dangerous bacteria and viruses, and they mistakenly end up killing and destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Young people who are from families where their parents and grandparents have a history of diabetes are known to be at very high risk of been infected by this infection (Cherney et al., 2014). Young people from indigenous communities can easily develop diabetes because they are exposed to poor diets which can contribute to this infection. Individuals who are aged above 40 years are exposed to this health priority. This is because at this age is the time most of them get employed and jobs which make most of them adopt an unhealthy lifestyle (Siaw, Malone, Ko & Lee, 2018). They become lazy into the extent that they prefer fast food which is processed which do not require to be cooked. In Singapore, this group of people instead of engaging themselves into constructive activities like physical exercises which is a mean of reducing the impacts of this health hazard, they spend most of their freedom in luxuries activities such as drinking which is unhealthy (Vancampfort et al., 2016). Old people who are above 60 years of age are at very high risk of getting this infection. This happens because in most cases they lack people who can give them appropriate advice on the kind of diets they are supposed to take to manage the infection (Pang et al., 2018). By this age, they don’t have enough energy to exercise which is very dangerous. Physical activities help strengthen muscles in old people and improves insulin sensitivity in their bodies. The table below shows the crude prevalence of IGT (%) among Singapore residents aged 18 to 69 years.

Diabetes in Young Children

There are various strategies which have been invented so that people be in Singapore can use them to control and manage diabetes. The first strategies is through formulation of alerts in the community in which people are warned about the problems of taking too much sugar and refined carbs in their diets because they put people in the risk of been infected by diabetes (Louie, Markovic, Ross, Foote, & Brand-Miller, 2013). Human body breaks these foodstuffs into small sugar molecules which are absorbed in the bloodstream. This results in the rise of sugar level in the body and in the process a person develops diabetes. Another strategy which can be taken to control this health priority in Singapore is through the establishment of public activities such as sports and athletic activities in tertiary institutions, secondary schools, primary schools and preschool so that students even from tender age can participate in physical activities (Chua et al., 2017). This activity can also include community sports competitions in which adults and elders also plays part in. Working out regularly or on a daily basis can prevent diabetes. Physical activities reduce insulin resistance and blood sugar levels in the body which makes an individual have excess weight (Nitert et al., 2013). Healthcare professionals in Singapore should advice the people in the community to ensure that they take water as their primary beverage instead of taking sugary drinks which can expose them to this health priority. People should also be advised to include a lot of fiber, vegetables and cereals in their diet because this can help control and prevent this health hazard. 

However, this strategies cannot be implemented in all the communities in Singapore because of various challenges which are faced in the process. Healthcare professionals and social health workers are not able to reach people who are in remote areas (Hartling et al., 2013). This happens due to lack of enough capital to enter these areas, and they have poor infrastructure. The language barrier is another problem which is faced by social workers because most of these individuals only understand their local language and they are not able to understand what healthcare professionals teach them (Hayes, Leal, Gray, Holman & Clarke, 2013). Even though a nutritious diet can be used to manage this health priority, not all members of the society can afford it because of poverty.

Conclusion:

The National Health Priority Area of Singapore has been able to recognize life-threatening infections and condition and take the appropriate measure which can be employed to control and manage the situation. Health complications which are caused by health priorities like diabetes can be achieved by seeking medical attention where healthcare professionals advise patients on what they should do and not do with their health condition. People of all ages should be educated on how to manage this health hazard.

References:

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Risk Factors for Diabetes in Singapore

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