‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

Research proposal:
Impact of diabetes on physical function of older
people

Supervisor: Miss.Najwa Sobh.

Student’s names:
1-Alaa shawahna.
2-Eyad barahmeh.
3- Mohammed wild ali.
4- Mohammed abed raboh.
 Impact of diabetes on physical function of older
people
Title of Research
The working title of the research is initially drafted as Impact of Diabetes on Physical
Function in Older People. A syndrome of disordered metabolism, diabetes mellitus
results in unusually high levels of blood sugar, due to the combined hereditary and
environmental causes. Diabetes could cause many complications that might affect the
functionality of an affected individual. Such complications are most common and more
severe among the elderly, affecting their physical and/or mental abilities .

Research Aims and Objectives:

The main purpose of this research is to analyse the dynamics of physical functionality
and dysfunctionality among the elderly group with diabetes. Specifically, the objectives
of the research are to:

 To evaluate the extent to which diabetes affects the physical function of elderly
people
 To determine how the physical condition of the elderly people with diabetes are
being managed
 To assess the physical-related comorbidities among the elderly people with
diabetes
 To analyse how physical dysfunctionality among elderly people with diabetes
affects the social function of the patients.

To accomplish such aim, the study will seek to address the key research question: How
diabetes impacts the physical functioning of elderly people? In connection with this, the
following research questions will be addressed:

1) How the physical condition of elderly people with diabetes is being managed?

2) How diabetes changes what and what cannot elderly people do? What are the activities that elderly people
with diabetes engaged into?

3) How diabetes in elderly people lead to physical-related comorbidities? What are those physical-related
comorbidities?

4) How physical functionality contributes or exacerbates the social functioning of elderly people with diabetes?
LITERATURE REVIEW
Diabetes could cause many complications that might affect the functionality of an
affected individual. Such complications are most common and more severe among the
elderly, affecting their physical and/or mental abilities (Sinclair, 2007). It is reported that
there is about 20 million in the UK who will be diabetic and so the necessity to
determine the extent to which older people will be affected most. In this literature
review, I will track the correlation between diabetes and physical disability, diabetes and
its comorbidities, diabetes in older men and women, diabetes and lower extremity
disability and muscle strength and quality and also the roles of physicians.

Justification of the Study

The study could lead to significant improvements in the health care sector especially
when it comes to devising policies and strategies relating to sustaining the quality of life
of diabetic people despite their lessened mobility. As such, studying how diabetes
impacts on the older people could lead to the development of a systematic
understanding of how diabetes is likely to impede the functionality of people. Given that
studies about the topic are very limited, the findings of this study will be very important
in developing evidence-based healthcare service. This research is likely to be significant
for practitioners and service managers as well as policymakers and the diabetic
community. Such a study will also be an important area of study towards proper
education of healthcare professionals. Likewise, this research will serve as a
supplement to the limited study about the topic and it is hoped that the findings will
contribute important inputs.

Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework I have chosen to utilize in conjunction with this research is an
interpretivist one. Interpretivism is the necessary research philosophy for this study
because it allows searching the ‘details of the situation to understand the reality or
perhaps a reality working behind them’. Limitations inherent with this type of framework
would include a susceptibility to projecting my subjectivities on to the healthcare
schema in the context of the research study. I would tend to think that there are serious
consequences to the lack of strategies, development and regulations for diabetic
patients in the UK but this may not be the case from the participants perspective, and I
would need to remain vigilant when engaging in interviews and interpreting data in this
research study with regard to my own subjectivities.

Firstly, the research questions that I want to answer fit the Interpretivist framework. I
want to gain first-hand knowledge about the issue and the resulting data analysis
is expected to shed new light (be it positive or negative) on how people view the
value of health care structure, system, strategies, development and policies for
people with diabetes. I would hope to use this theoretical framework to expound
on the health structure and institution applications inherent in this research study
by analyzing the position of the people with diabetes themselves in a local
organization setting. There are two reasons for situating myself in this type of
theoretical framework. Second, I am interested in conducting my research in a
qualitative manner because I want to place myself in the position of viewing the
value of healthcare services and the support of the government from the
individuals’ perspective