Needs Analysis Approach
Diabetes is among the nine national health priorities. Diabetes consists of a group of diseases that have got different causes but with similar manifestation. Among the common feature is a high level of glucose within the patient’s body. This is caused by the lack of the hormone insulin or even the incapability of a person to respond to insulin. Despite that it is difficult to cure diabetes, it is observed that it can be clinically controlled and managed. Additionally, there is a lot that individuals with diabetes can do to improve their personal health.
A needs analysis is part of a planning process that is used to identify and determine the gaps that exist between the present conditions and the desired conditions. The purpose of this report is to conduct a needs analysis on people living with diabetes mellitus through identification of the best needs analysis approach, challenges faced during the needs analysis, conducting a SWOT analysis, and identifying the program priorities. The realist review approach will be used in carrying out the needs analysis.
Needs Analysis Approach
Realist review approach is among the best needs analysis approach for diabetes mellitus control. Diabetes control should be done at the national level since the disease is an important public health issue, and it has got negative impacts on the economy. According to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Reports, Diabetes is among the leading cause of death globally. However, the number of deaths that are as a result of diabetes are substantially underestimated specifically because of the methods used to record deaths (Becker, 2015). This is because individuals who suffer from diabetes normally die due to diabetic complications that include heart attack, which is mostly recorded as the cause of death rather than diabetes itself. Additionally, the disease has got health system costs that translate to the increased economic burden that is as a result of diabetes treatment and its complications.
According to Malone, et al (2012), realist analysis has become a popular approach in reviewing and synthesizing evidence by focusing on and understanding the mechanisms by which an intervention works or does not work. This approach entails the identification of the underlying causal mechanisms as well as exploring how they function under what conditions. The approach involves four stages that include defining the review’s scope, searching and analyzing the evidence, extracting and synthesizing, along with developing the narrative (Bray & Popkin, 2014).
This needs analysis approach is thus useful in developing an explanatory or a program theory regarding what works best and what does not work during the process of controlling and managing diabetes mellitus and to what extents. Applying the approach, the context-mechanism-outcome configuration can then be developed iteratively by means of data collection, theorizing, including engaging the stakeholders (Cain, Orionzi, O’Brien & Trahan, 2017). The people that may be included in this needs analysis include the people living in the community, a care home or even other long-term settings.
Challenges Faced during the Need Analysis
Challenges Faced during the Need Analysis
During the process of carrying out the needs analysis, multiple small obstacles were faced and they ranged from policy, inter-disciplinary and the generic levels. These challenges have a negative impact when conducting a needs analysis, and this may even lead to termination of the process. At the policy level, there were restrictions as to the specific time when assessors could get in touch with patients who were in care homes (Krämer, Green, Pollard & Tugendreich, 2013). As a result, there was a limitation to the number of diabetic patients who were involved in the analysis due to restricted interaction periods with the patients. Staffing in these care homes was largely done by the residents. This resulted in lack of patient continuity over time, every resident attended only a few patients, and the competing clinical, as well as educational demands limited the research participation.
At the generic level, there were several challenges that related to the patients who were to be included during the needs analysis for diabetes control. It was noted that most of the diabetes patients were unaware of the possibility of engaging in a needs analysis and if they were aware of this opportunity, it was difficult for them to locate the needs analysists (Miller & Maloney, 2013).
Most of the patients resided very far from the study centers. As a result, there was difficulty in coming to the clinics to participate in the diabetes control needs analysis. Nonetheless, there were poor show rates including confusion pertaining to the purpose of the analysis, despite the multiple reminders (Nicolucci, et al., 2013). At the inter-disciplinary level, the need analysis was faced with the challenge of making sure that there is fairness and ethics during the process of data collection such that only facts are collected and not statements which are emotionally charged or any other types of judgments that deviate from the acceptable evidence.
SWOT
Among the current strengths in the control of diabetes is screening which includes a hemoglobin A1C test as well as the fasting plasma glucose test. Screening helps in early detection and treatment of diabetes hence help in keeping diabetic people healthy (Pennel, McLeroy, Burdine & Cascante, 2015). Screening also helps in minimizing the risks that result from serious complications that include blindness, kidney failure, stroke, or even limb amputations.
Weaknesses associated with the control of diabetes is that it does not cover all the population. This is because very few people are involved in the screening process, since they are not aware that early detection of the disease could likely save each person an approximate of $1,415 per year (Paul, Street, Wheeler & Singh, 2015). Some of the factors that cause diabetes screening not to include all the population is due to clinic separation and the remoteness of the community-based outpatient clinics, as well as the different capabilities and the support services at every community-based outpatient clinic.
The opportunity associated with diabetes control is making diabetes screening mandatory for everybody. The Australian government should launch a fresh bid in overcoming the condition, pushing for national, and developing a comprehensive early detection program across the country. Emergency rooms along with the GP clinics should be supported to carry out more routine screening. Also, there are opportunities for improving diabetes outcomes, enhancing self-management in diabetes care, and organizing a systematic method for diabetes screening and reassessment.
SWOT
However, diabetes control is faced with certain threats such as the resistance of many people to undergo a diabetes screening. Among the reasons for this is that many people who are aware of the disease are afraid of screening themselves since they fear that they may test positive. Resistance may also be as a result of lack of exposure, thus some people lack necessary information that relates to the disease.
Program Priorities
Legal and regulatory interventions, unlike medical interventions, are rarely assessed during a needs analysis. As a result, priorities should be identified based on well-recognized criteria such as political feasibility, cost impact, along with effectiveness. These priorities should be provided at the grass root level via the state or the local councils (Kuehnert, Graber & Stone, 2014). First, the government should put in place a mandatory front-of-pack-labeling scheme. This is because if individuals are to take responsibility for their health, they should have clear and consistent nutritional information pertaining to the foods they purchase (Reisner, et al., 2016).
According to the Australian law, it is a requirement that manufacturers disclose on the food packages the nutrition information as well as the ingredient list. Since it may be time-consuming to read and interpret the information, a front-of-pack labels translate this information into simple visual images regarding the food’s quality and nutrition.
Second, children should be restricted from exposures related to junk food advertising. Dietary habits, as well as food choices, are affected by food advertisements. In 2008, the Australian Government had given consideration to this priority but later decided against regulating junk food advertising to children. Rather, the food industry signed two voluntary code of conducts. Empirical evidence shows that the signed voluntary codes have done little in minimizing the exposure of children to junk food advertising (Reed & Fleming, 2014).
Thus, this priority should be implemented at the grass root by putting in place comprehensive and preferable statutory measures that comprise of clearly defining the media and the audience, sanctions for non-compliance, and monitoring of compliance. Other priorities that can be provided at the grass root level include having stronger co-regulatory structures for food reformulation as well as imposing heavy taxes on sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages.
Conclusion
A needs analysis helps determine the existing discrepancy between current and expected expectations. This analysis is effective in clarifying a problem and identifying the necessary solutions or interventions. In this case, the realist review approach has been used to conduct a diabetes mellitus needs analysis. This approach is effective since it reviews and synthesizes evidence by focusing on and understanding the mechanisms by which an intervention works or does not work. Some of the challenges faced in the analysis include schedule limitations as to when to interact with patients in care homes. Among the strengths in the control of diabetes include screening, the weakness is that the whole population is not covered, the opportunity includes making diabetes screening mandatory while the threat is that there is resistance in screening for diabetes. Some of the program priorities include restricting children from exposures related to junk food advertising.
References
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Bray, G. A., & Popkin, B. M. (2014). Dietary sugar and body weight: have we reached a crisis in the epidemic of obesity and diabetes?: health be damned! Pour on the sugar. Diabetes care, 37(4), 950-956.
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Nicolucci, A., Kovacs Burns, K., Holt, R. I., Comaschi, M., Hermanns, N., Ishii, H., … & Tarkun, I. (2013). Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs second study (DAWN2™): Cross?national benchmarking of diabetes?related psychosocial outcomes for people with diabetes. Diabetic medicine, 30(7), 767-777.
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