Clinical Practice Guideline for Diabetes Mellitus
The World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) Created the National Clinical Guidelines for Management of Diabetes Mellitus to facilitate the management and treatment of the condition in clinical and home settings. The guideline falls into eight major chapters that provide detailed information on how to handle the health issue. The initial chapters present general data about the health condition, while the latter focuses on mitigation approaches. For example, the introductory section informs that diabetes mellitus falls into type I diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, 2010). The guideline shows that it is possible to prevent diabetes using several behavioral approaches to minimize fat consumption, lose weight, increase physical activities, and reduce alcohol consumption, among other techniques (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, 2010). The final chapter provides information that helps live with diabetes while emphasizing that the condition requires lifelong responsibility. The guideline reiterates that people living with the illness must adjust many practices and habits, such as what they consume, when they exercise, and how frequently they consult medical practitioners (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, 2010). The guideline could be termed level I because it presents evidence from a meta-analysis of relevant evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and randomized controlled trials. It is comprehensive, informative, and elaborative.
The clinical practice guideline applies to those suffering from diabetes mellitus because it provides directives that interveners follow to address the problem. For example, those living with the condition learn from the guideline that it is possible to lessen the adverse effects of diabetes by changing one’s lifestyle, especially concerning what one consumes and how they exercise. Furthermore, people with diabetes learn about the danger signs such as hypoglycemia, which Muche and Mekonen (2020) describe as an emergency that should be handled urgently to avert serious complications. In addition, the clinical practice guideline applies to practitioners who gain valuable insight into how to intervene for individuals who present symptoms of diabetes mellitus. For instance, clinicians learn the procedure of managing hypoglycemia, which encompasses offering a sweetened drink or oral glucose if a patient is conscious and injecting able glucagon in unconscious patients, among other functions (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, 2010). Besides, the guideline identifies areas that require considerable attention to improve how diabetic people fit into society. For example, it shows the need to stop the prejudice that diabetic people face while searching for employment and applying for a driving license (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, 2010). Furthermore, the guideline highlights the need to address the issue where most people with diabetes must pay additional charges for sickness insurance and life assurance. Such valuable information suggests that the clinical practice guideline targets and applies to diabetics and interveners.
Enough evidence suggests that the clinical practice guideline for diabetes mellitus is peer-reviewed. An examination of the guideline indicates that it is peer-reviewed. The procedure was created by the World Diabetes Foundation, which is a not-for-profit firm that provides extensive resources regarding diabetes. The team at WDF scrutinized the entire document before releasing it for official use. Another reason the clinical practice guideline is peer-reviewed is that it is further refined by the publisher where the document is in use (Kenyan context). For instance, the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation that publishes the guideline locally reviews it. In addition, the National Diabetes Control Programme, a division of the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, contributes to the review process. Hence, the clinical practice guideline is peer-reviewed.
References
Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. (2010). National clinical guidelines for management of diabetes mellitus. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from, https://www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org/sites/default/files/WDF09-436%20National%20Clinical%20Guidelines%20for%20Management%20of%20Diabetes%20Melitus%20-%20Complete.pdf
Muche, E.A., & Mekonen, B.T. (2020). Hypoglycemia prevention practice and its associated factors among diabetes patients at university teaching hospital in Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE 15(8), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238094