Throughout the first quarter of 2010, NDEP has been promoting a family history theme to raise awareness of family history as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

In addition to promoting the family history message on/around American Diabetes Alert Day, here are some additional ways you can help extend NDEP’s reach during the first quarter and promote the family history theme:

1. Post the feature articles “Every Family Has Secrets! Could Diabetes Be One of Them?” and “Activity Counts—For All Ages!” to your organization’s website, distribute via your listserv, place in your newsletter, or use social media to post messages on Facebook and Twitter.
2. Use some or all of the NDEP products below to support these promotions by distributing at health fairs, conferences, or educational sessions, or use social media:
   • “Start now to get moving and have fun”—It’s Not Too Late To Prevent Diabetes tip sheet
   • “What can I do to be more physically active?”—Tips for Teens: Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes tip sheet
   • “Small steps for getting more physical activity”—Game Plan booklet
   • Movimiento por su vida CD/DVD and Step by Step CD/DVD
3. Re-post and re-tweet NDEP’s social media posts on Facebook and Twitter.

NDEP will promote a diabetes control theme in the second quarter of the year. Stay tuned for the April issue of NEWS & NOTES for ways you can promote the theme.

When it comes to helping people understand their risk for diabetes, such as family history, it is also important to help people understand their risk of diabetes-related complications, such as kidney disease. In observance of National Kidney Month, NDEP asks partners to encourage people in your community to learn about the link between diabetes and kidney disease and to find out if they are at risk for kidney disease. NDEP recommends the following resources:

• “For People with Diabetes or High Blood Pressure: Get Checked for Kidney Disease” from the National Kidney Disease Education Program (This brochure was recently simplified to communicate key messages as clearly as possible.)
• “Kidney Disease of Diabetes” from the National Kidney and Urologic Disease Information Clearinghouse

In upcoming issues of News & Notes, we will continue to highlight how some of our partners promoted the Managing Diabetes: It’s not Easy, but It’s Worth it campaign in November 2009 for National Diabetes Awareness Month, and share partner tips so you can promote NDEP in your community, too.

The following partners promoted NDEP on their websites and in their e-newsletter:

• Richard Kropp, Information Specialist for the Texas Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, posted campaign information on the program website. His advice to others working with a web developer is to look at the website and think through where the information should appear. Provide the web developer with a graphic and write out the text, including any links, in a Microsoft Word document. He also suggests finding out who has authority over the website to give permission to post content.
• Maria Carreon-Ayers, Language Service Coordinator for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Prevention Services Division, included campaign information in the department’s October/November e-bulletin, which is distributed to approximately 885 Colorado Diabetes Network subscribers. The department originally contracted with a web developer to create an e-bulletin template. Internal department staff is now able to use the template to add the diabetes information they have gathered and send the bulletin out to subscribers. The department also links to the NDEP website on their resources webpage.

Check out NDEP’s Partner Spotlight webpage for more examples of partner initiatives to promote NDEP. Hats off to our NDEP partners for helping spread the word about diabetes control and prevention!

NDEP’s Support for Behavior Change Resource (SBCR) is looking for your recommendations! If you have additional research articles, tools, or programs that you think should be included in the SBCR, click here for instructions on submitting materials and to download the online submission form.

For those of you who haven’t yet had a chance to review this resource, NDEP encourages you to visit the Tools and Programs section which includes links to more than 100 tools and programs that provide useful information to help people make and sustain important lifestyle changes.

The 2010 CDC DDT Conference is just around the corner! The meeting is slated for April 13-16 at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, MO. The theme this year is “Looking to 2020: Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize of Diabetes Prevention and Control.” The DDT Conference brings together hundreds of your colleagues, friends, and partners, all focused on the fight against diabetes. Make sure you are part of this group.

What’s on the agenda? Plenary presenters will address diabetes prevention – research to practice, built environments, screening across the life stages, and healthcare reform. Twelve symposia or concurrent sessions will address health disparities, community intervention, media and technology, evaluation, and much more. Two sessions will offer training on NDEP toolkits, health literacy, social media, advocacy, and collaboration. It’s your chance to learn about, and apply, innovative and crosscutting initiatives in public health.

And don’t forget the Frankie Awards ceremony on March 13! Don’t miss the showcase of innovative NDEP programs and activities. Register online today at www.cdc.gov/diabetes/conferences/index.htm.

Consumers now have access to encyclopedic health information on the go! The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the launch of Mobile MedlinePlus, a streamlined, mobile resource featuring a subset of the trusted information from the main MedlinePlus website. Both English- and Spanish-language versions of the website are available. The information provided includes:

• Health Topics – This section provides an easy way for patients to look up summaries of more than 800 health concerns – including diabetes - along with illustrations. It also includes information on disorders and conditions; diagnosis and therapy; and talking with your doctor; as well as special sections for women, children, and teens.
• Drugs – This section has information on prescription and over-the-counter medications, including side effects, special instructions, emergency information, and more.
• Current Health News – This section offers news from around the web on a wide variety of health topics.

NDEP encourages partners to share this information with your organization, colleagues, and patients.

In future issues of NEWS & NOTES look for NDEP promotional tools that are ready for you to personalize, customize, and distribute. For example, use our printer-ready public service announcements to make diabetes posters for upcoming events, health fairs, or your office. Use our customizable campaign resources and community toolkits to promote diabetes awareness in your community. Or take our feature articles, press releases and media advisories, and public service announcements, and add your organization’s logo.

Using social media? So are we! Don’t forget to follow NDEP on Twitter @NDEP, become a fan on Facebook, and look for our videos on YouTube. Check out this video series that NDEP created with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Feel free to “re-tweet” and share NDEP posts with your social media friends!

By using our promotional tools, everybody wins. Your constituents receive important health information, your organization receives good publicity, and you help NDEP continue to be the nation’s No. 1 resource for free information and materials on diabetes control and prevention. NEWS & NOTES features resources that tie into quarterly promotions and can help us promote NDEP together.

Stop by and visit NDEP at the following upcoming presentations and exhibits:

• American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance’s 125th National Convention and Exposition
  March 16-20, 2010, Indianapolis, IN
• 2010 Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Prevention Research Center (PRCs) Joint Conference
  April 7-9, Atlanta, GA
  Judith McDivitt, Ph.D., will present a poster entitled, “Developing and Sustaining Long-term Partnerships in the National Diabetes Education Program” on April 8 from 6:30 to8:00 p.m.

• 2010 CDC Diabetes Translation Conference*
  April 13-16, 2010, Kansas City, MO

  April 13-16 – Judith McDivitt, Ph.D. and Betsy Rodriguez, M.S.N., C.D.E. will present a poster entitled, “National Diabetes Education Program Resources for Public Health Implementers.”

  April 14, 3:00-5:00 p.m. - Betsy Rodriguez, M.S.N, C.D.E. and Alexis Williams, M.P.H., C.H.E.S. will lead a workshop entitled, “NDEP Toolkit Café – Facilitating Resource Implementation in Organizations Serving Ethnic Minority Populations.”

  April 15 - Judith McDivitt, Ph.D., Michelle Owens-Gary, Ph.D., and Sarah Lewis, M.P.H., C.H.E.S. will present a session entitled, “Using Health Promotion Theory and Existing Market Research Data to Inform Diabetes Communication and Education Strategies.”

  April 16, 9:15-10:45 a.m. - Joanne Gallivan, M.S., R.D. will present sessions entitled, “Empowering Adolescents, Young Adults and Their Families to Effectively Manage Diabetes,” and “Diabetes Management. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”

  April 16 – Carolyn Jenkins, Richard Kropp, Marinelle Payton, and Terry Womack will present a panel entitled, “Collaborative Partnerships for Improved Diabetes Prevention and Control: Lessons Learned Using NDEP Materials.”

  *Please note that presenters and dates at DDT are subject to change as the agenda is being finalized.

• American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 19th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress
  April 21-25, 2010, Boston, MA
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 58th Annual Clinical Meeting
  May 15-19, 2010, San Francisco, CA
• American Academy of Physicians Assistants 38th Annual Conference
  May 29-June 3, 2010, Atlanta, GA
• Social Marketing In Public Health Conference
  June 11-12, 2010, Clearwater, FL
  Sarah Lewis, M.P.H., C.H.E.S., CDC/NDEP Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow will present a session entitled, “Marketing Audience and Evidence-based Approaches: Engaging Community Health Workers for Diabetes Prevention.” The exact date and time of the presentation is TBD.
• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners 25th National Conference
  June 23-27, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
• American Diabetes Association 70th Scientific Sessions
  June 25-29, Orlando, FL