Is social prescription and metformin ore effective in reducing blood sugar levels than metformin alone

They may prescribe activities such as dancing, knitting, and cookery clubs (Williams, R. Blood sugar control is an important aspect of diabetes management. However, the use of medications such as metformin is the only way through which people have attempted to control their blood sugar. Social prescriptions have also been used to help in the management of blood sugar levels among diabetic patients. This study seeks to establish whether the use of social prescriptions together with metformin can help achieve better health outcomes in the management of blood sugar levels. 3% of the American population has diabetes (Baek, R. et al. The disease is a complex chronic disease that requires a lot of input from the patients in form of self-management. The patients have to make decisions about dieting, exercising, monitoring blood glucose and adhering to medication.

The disease can affect multiple organs including the eye, the kidneys, and the heart. Various methods have been employed by clinicians and patients to control the chronic illness. Metformin is one of the clinical approaches for controlling blood sugar levels (Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, 2015). However, the efficacy of this method has not been investigated when used together with social prescriptions. This study seeks to establish whether Metformin and social prescription can yield better results in controlling blood sugar levels among diabetic patients. Social prescription is a new approach to tackling various problems affecting patients (Brandling, J. The study, conducted by Greene et al. 2010, found that social media platforms are increasingly becoming important to patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes (Green, J.

et al. Patients use social media platforms such as Facebook to share clinical information as well as seek disease specific guidance and feedback. According to this study, about 75% of posts on the social networking platform were unsolicited. It will also help to ascertain the quality of studies relevant to this study. The literature review will help identify weaknesses in methodologies, systemic biases, and other issues that may compromise the quality of research evidence. This will help inform on recommendations about how future studies should be conducted on the subject. Most importantly, the literature review will allow help build the needed insight for the current study. It will help identify information gaps and missing links in research on the use of metformin and social prescription as a way of managing diabetes.

This means that research articles that are either meta-analysis or systematic review will be placed at the top of the hierarchy. This will be followed by critically appraised topics, which are a form of evidence synthesis at the second level in the hierarchy. Critically appraised individual articles will come third in this order. Random Controlled trials will come in fourth in the hierarchy. Cohort studies will follow the RCTs at the fifth position. They will need to be assured that their privacy and confidentiality will be assured. They will also need to assured that that the study intends to improve the quality of care through the information obtained from them Most importantly, it will be necessary to underscore the aspect of beneficence, which should be a characteristic of all studies involving human participants.

The patients need to know that out of the studies in which they participate, they are likely to benefit from better health as well as current and efficient interventions. The risk of harm being incurred on any patient should be reviewed. The patients will need to know the risks involved in participating in the research undertakings. There is no sharing of information between the researcher and the human subjects. It is often short-term, ending after the study is over. It is preferable if studies considers their patients to be participants of the study instead of taking them to be human subjects. Results Beneficence is an important aspect to check for studies involving social prescription. The study will seek to establish how well patients were satisfied by the outcomes of employing social prescriptions.

Moreover, they have to make decisions about their health on a daily basis. This leaves the majority of the patients distressed. This burden is estimated to affect between 60 and 100% of the diabetic patients. In most instances, this sort of distress leads to more than sixty percent of diabetic patients developing depression. The complications of the disease are another source of distress to these patients (Baek, R. However, they find that many clinicians are afraid to pursue this new path in medicine because it might bring out several issues that they feel they do not have the capacity to handle. These involve psychosocial issues that may require specialized attention by a professional such as psychiatrist or a social worker (Brandling, J. & House, W.

The researchers argue that the existence of psychosocial issues in a clinical problem leads to clinicians recommending social avenues to resolve the problem (Brandling, J. & House, W. It will then seek to find whether the potential outcomes of the study are realistic. Articles will then be reviewed to ascertain whether they used a wide range of evidence pertinent to the topic. The search strategy will also be examined to establish key terms used in the search. Articles that involved systematic reviews will be checked for balance to ensure they are not biased in their analyses. The study will also check whether the research articles identified limitations in their review. conducted a study to impact of social networking on diabetic patients. The study provides a brief and concise abstract stating the benefits of social networking among diabetic patients, chief among them being exchange of information and emotional support.

Diabetic patients in this study formed an online community through which they could share information, offer each other emotional support, and engage each other on important issues pertinent to their health (Green, J. et al. The study offers a good background stating that the quality and content of the information is poorly understood. Moreover, it has some limitations to its use. It cannot be used to solve problems among diabetic patients that stem from social backgrounds. This calls for its use together with other forms of management that help patient get an overall improvement in their quality of life. Social prescription is one way to help patients to have an improvement in their quality of life. As shown in the evidence presented in this paper, social prescription can help avoid symptoms of depression because patients can get emotional and social support from their peers through social prescription.