This Essay Will Address the Role of Health Screening and...

Diabetes is a disease that ‘currently affects 346 million people worldwide’ (WHO 2011, Diabetes Program, p. 1). The National Health Priority Action Council (NHPAC) highlighted that ‘the direct health care expenditure on diabetes in 2000-01 was $812 million’(NHPAC 2006, p.7). This essay will address the role of health screening and health promotion in regards to diabetes mellitus. It will discuss the topics of morbidity, mortality, and aetiology as well as strategies to reduce incidence and prevalence, current strategies for health promotion, the role of health screening, future planning, and the effectiveness of such strategies. There are a variety of classifications of diabetes, which include Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes,†¦show more content†¦1), as the varying classifications of the disease occur from varying origins. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common, is caused by mostly modifiable health factors, which include ‘obesity, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diets’ (WHO 2011, p. 2), although it is also related to increasing age, strong family history of diabetes, and ethnicity (Zimmet amp; Magliano 2011). This type of diabetes is most likely to decrease if there is an increase in health promotion. Type 1 diabetes ‘usually develops in childhood or adolescence’ (WHO 2011, p. 2), and will result in death if the disease is not treated by consistent insulin injection. This type of diabetes is slightly more complex as it is substantially caused by gene mutation (WHO 2011, p. 2). The World Health Organization (2011, p. 2), describes the aetiology of the disease as the ‘autoimmune destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas.’ Gestational diabetes, which is much less common, only occurs during pregnancy and is caused by a resistance to the actions of insulin brought on by the hormones a woman’s body releases during pregnancy (WHO 2011, p. 2). Once diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus you are at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life (Zimmet amp; Magliano 2011). For this reason it is particularly important to use preventative measures and consistent health checks. Health screening is an important