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Women and Diabetes

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Submitted By mrsjames359
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Women and Diabetes:
An Examination of Quality of Care for Medicare Recipients

Abstract In recent years, diabetes has become one of the top 10 causes of death among women. Research has revealed that women 65 years and older account for 40% of the population and numbers are expected to increase exponentially. Vigorous medication management and coordination of care is instrumental in treating diabetes effectively. The patchwork of health insurance that exist today, particularly Medicare Part D, is culpable in allowing unequivocal disparities among race, gender, and socioeconomic status. This paper will examine quality of care among Medicare beneficiaries, particularly women, and implications for revision in social policy.

Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle is a necessity for achieving longevity. A nutritional, well balanced diet coupled with regular exercise is a simple, yet effective way to sustain healthy living. Neglecting to address diet and exercise, as part of a weekly regimen, is a precursor to the onset of an acute, lifelong illness. Diabetes is one of the largest and fastest growing causes of chronic disease mortality, morbidity, and disability in the United States (Robbins & Webb, 2006). Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent diabetes and no cure for the disease once acquired. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than twenty-three million Americans have diabetes. Patients age 65 years or older account for approximately forty percent of all cases, the largest percentage of any age group (Fisher, Brownson, O’toole, Sherry, Anwuri, & Glasgow, 2005). Approximately twelve million of these cases are women (Owens, Beckles, Gorrell, Brady & Kaftarian, 2008). Impoverished and disenfranchised populations are especially at risk and subjected to disparities related to the quality of diabetes care

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