NACDD Celebrates Diabetes Awareness Month: Shares Successes from Groundbreaking Diabetes Prevention
ATLANTA (PRWEB) October 29, 2018 -- As Americans turn their focus to National Diabetes Awareness Month in November, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) pledges to continue its 30 years of leadership to help people manage and prevent this potentially disabling and life-threatening condition.
Since 1988, NACDD has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to bring diabetes management and prevention interventions to communities, health systems, health departments, and individuals through its national network. These efforts have ranged from providing support for individual diabetes self-management education programs in rural health departments to national media campaigns focused on prediabetes and preventing type 2 diabetes.
“Diabetes prevention is at the heart of our organization’s work because it is linked to so many other chronic diseases such as heart disease and stroke,” said NACDD CEO, John Robitscher.
NACDD is one of only 10 organizations receiving Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding to scale and sustain the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) in rural counties during a five year period. The Association continues to work with State Health Departments to engage strategic partners to scale and sustain the National DPP, and since 2012, NACDD has supported 35 states and several large cities.
Specifically, NACDD and CDC collaborated to develop a State Engagement Model to enhance stakeholder engagement to catalyze commitment and action. Use of the model results in coordinated and collective action among diverse stakeholders rather than activities done in silos. NACDD released the National Diabetes Prevention Program, State Engagement Model Collective Impact Report detailing program success across the US. An Executive Brief of the report also is available.
Additionally, NACDD’s Medicaid Coverage for the National DPP Demonstration Project is showing how state Medicaid agencies and State Health Departments can collaborate to implement and deliver a sustainable coverage model for the National DPP.
Finally, in collaboration with CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, NACDD launched the online National DPP Coverage Toolkit, a resource to help states and organizations navigate the potential complexities of offering the program as a covered health benefit. NACDD also provides individual and group-based technical assistance to eight states that selected coverage of the National DPP as a focus in the CDC 6|18 Initiative.
“Working with our national partners and with CDC support, NACDD and its Members from State Health Departments are turning promising practices into practical solutions that are resulting in improved population health for people with prediabetes and those at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes,” said Robitscher.
More than 100 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes, according to the CDC, many of whom are unaware that they are at risk. However, modest changes—such as losing 5 to 7% of one’s body weight and becoming physically active for at least 30 minutes a day—are examples of approaches that can prevent type 2 diabetes or lessen its complications.
While diabetes can be managed successfully to allow for an abundant life, it also can cause blindness and result in limb or extremity amputation as well as kidney failure and heart disease. Incidences of diabetes have been growing for decades, and NACDD continues to expand its network of strategic partners that can work together to meet the growing need many Americans face in preventing and managing diabetes.
CDC offers a one-minute test for people to find out if they are at risk for type 2 diabetes at http://www.cdc.gov/prediabetes/takethetest.
To learn more about NACDD and its Diabetes Awareness efforts in November and every day, visit http://.http://www.chronicdisease.org/page/DiabetesPrograms
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About The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
Since 1988, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and its nearly 7,000 Members have worked to strengthen state-based leadership and expertise for chronic disease prevention and control in all states, territories, and nationally. Learn more at chronicdisease.org.
About The National Diabetes Prevention Program
To address the growing problems of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, CDC established the National DPP, which provides the framework for type 2 diabetes prevention efforts in the US. The National DPP includes an evidence-based, year-long, lifestyle change program that encourages modest behavior changes to lose weight to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that a loss of even 5-7% of body weight could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% in adults with prediabetes and by 71% in adults older than 60.
More than 1,400 CDC-recognized organizations offer the National DPP lifestyle change program and have enrolled more than 175,000 eligible participants. Approximately 65 commercial health plans provide some coverage for the program, and Medicare began reimbursing for this program in April 2018.
About Prediabetes
It is estimated that 84 million Americans (one in three) have prediabetes. A person with prediabetes has a blood sugar level higher than normal, and their risk for developing type 2 diabetes is increased. People with type 2 diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of type 2 diabetes. Investing in type 2 diabetes prevention can slow or prevent the development of the disease in adults with prediabetes, resulting in reduced costs and healthier populations.
Paige Rohe, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, http://www.chronicdisease.org, 404-924-8295, [email protected]
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