An investigation into the High Incidence of

Diabetes in our Minority Communities

Lorna Lindo

lornalindo@aol.com

George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education

High School, Brooklyn N.Y.

Counting your carbohydrates

Introduction:

Statistics from the New York City Health and Administration Office have shown a tremendous surge in the numbers of minorities (African American and Hispanics) diagnosed with diabetes when compared with other groups.. Let us not forget that there are many who are not diagnosed but who are also afflicted with the disease.. Why is this happening?

The Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) was created in 1987 out of a need to address health issues pertaining to the minority community. The OMHRC collects and distributes information on many health topics and public policy issues. The OMHRC’s mission is to improve the health of racial and ethnic populations through the development of effective public health policies programs and to help eliminate disparities in health. (OMRC site)

Although there is a genetic disposition toward the disease some social, political, and economic issues also contribute to this demise. The American Diabetes Association states that one out of three Hispanics don’t know they have diabetes (2020.14,4/98).

Your job is to research this problem using the TIPS six step Public Policy Analyst model and to be a force in the city to inform and educate the Office of the Mayor and Office of the Governor of New York State. It is important that they consider your findings when making decisions about healthcare policy. Your ultimate goal will be that there are public policies in effect which will reduce the cases of diabetes among all groups discussed so that people will live longer and healthier lives

Task:

Your task is to develop a plan of action which includes a PowerPoint presentation and pamphlet to educate students, citizens and the Mayor and Governor. The goal is to promote increased awareness of the problem and ultimately modify public policies in an effort to decrease the rate of diabetes occurrence in New York State.

Process/Resources:

You will be working in groups of 4. Each student will be responsible for a specific task.

One person will be the manager and will be responsible for the overall supervision and coordination of the team.

One person will be responsible for doing the research and gathering the relevant information.

One person will be responsible for writing and editing

One person will be responsible for putting the PowerPoint presentation together.

You will follow a 6 step process based on the Public Policy Analyst (PPA)

The steps are follows

1. Define the problem

2. Gather the evidence

American Diabetes Association

http://diabetes.webmd.com/is-there-a-diabetes-cure

3.Identify the cause

4Evaluate an existing policy

5Develop solutions

6Select the best solution(Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

In order to prepare the brochure you will need a sheet of colored paper 8.5cmx11cm. Fold paper in half using the width. Design an interesting cover; you can be as creative as you want to be.

Inside the brochure create sub headings using information obtained from the following questions.

1. What is diabetes? Why does it occur?

2. Who is at a greater risk for getting diabetes? Why is this so?

3. How is diabetes managed? Explain

4. What are the signs of high blood sugar? Low blood sugar?

5. What are some of the healthy habits that diabetics should embrace?

6. Is there a cure? Discuss

7. What are some of the complications of diabetes?

8. Why is diabetes called the silent killer?

Evaluation:

You will use the following rubric to grade your peers on their presentation and brochure

Name	Exceptional	Admirable	Acceptable	Poor
1	An abundance of material clearly related to project; points are clearly made and all evidence supports findings; varied use of materials	Sufficient information that relates to project; many good points made but there is an uneven balance and little variation	There is a great deal of information that is not clearly connected to the project	Project not clear; information included that does not support project in any way
2	Project is clearly stated and developed; specific examples are appropriate and clearly develop findings; conclusion is clear; shows control; flows together well; well organized	Most information presented in logical sequence; generally very well organized	Concept and ideas are loosely connected; lacks clear transitions; presented in an uneven and choppy manner	Presentation is choppy and disjointed; does not flow; development of project is vague; no logical order of presentation
3	Very original presentation of material; captures audience's attention	Some originality apparent; good variety and blending of materials/media	Little or no variation; material presented with little originality or interpretation	Repetitive with little or no variety; insufficient use of materials
4	Balanced use of multimedia materials; properly used to develop project; use of media is varied and appropriate	Use of multimedia not as varied and not as well connected to project	Choppy use of multimedia materials; lacks smooth transition from one medium to another	Little or no multimedia used or ineffective use of multimedia
5	Poised, clear articulation; even and steady pace; good eye contact; enthusiastic; confident	Clear articulation but not presented with confidence	Some mumbling; little eye contact; uneven rate; little or no expression	Inaudible or too loud; no eye contact; rate too slow/fast; speaker seemed uninterested and used monotone
6	Involved the audience in the presentation; points made in creative way; held the audience's attention throughout	Presented facts well; held the audience's attention most of the time	Some related facts but went off topic and lost the audience; mostly presented facts with little or no imagination	Incoherent; audience lost interest and could not determine the point of the presentation

Pamphlet rubric	Above & Beyond! (10)	Acceptable (7)	More Effort Please! (5)	Not Acceptable (0)
Pamphlet Content	The pamphlet includes all information relevant to the topic in an organized fashion.	Pamphlet includes all relevant information; however, it is not well-organized.	Does not have all of the relevant information of the pamphlet. There is not enough information presented. Information is presented in an unorganized fashion.	The pamphlet is lacking in elements required. There are many gaps in information presented.
Graphics	The pamphlet includes graphics that illustrates and sup-ports the content and purpose of the pamphlet.	The pamphlet includes graphics that illustrates and supports the content and purpose of the pamphlet.	The pamphlet includes some graphics that illustrates and supports the content and purpose of the pamphlet.	The pamphlet includes few graphics that illustrates and supports the content and purpose of the pamphlet.
Attractiveness	The pamphlet has an element of creativity and style, and is not just a list of facts. The pamphlet is presented in a clear and concise manner with full understanding of the subject.	The pamphlet is clear and logical and contains facts as well as very few mistakes. Good clear presentation.	The pamphlet lacks style and content. In addition, the pamphlet lacks neatness and clarity.	The pamphlet lacks a clear understanding of the subject matter and there are many errors. Pamphlet is not creative.

Conclusion

Upon completion of this activity you should have developed various skills and obtained a better understanding of diabetes in our community. You will now be better able to understand the role and responsibility of the individual and government in diabetic education and ultimately in decreasing the incidences of this disease.

Common Core standards

1. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

2. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

3. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically

Standards:

N.Y.S science standards

Living environment St 4K1:1.2b

Humans are complex organisms. They require multiple systems for digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, movement, coordination, and immunity. The systems interact to perform the life functions.