November is National Diabetes Month, a time when we bring attention to diabetes and how lifestyle changes may help prevent type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications. Approximately 38 million people about 1 in 10 adults in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 don’t know they have it. Diabetes raises risk for heart disease and stroke, and diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, lower-limb amputations, and adult blindness. However, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes can be prevented through lifestyle changes. The CDC-recognized National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program can help people with prediabetes take healthy steps to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
NACDD’s Diabetes Portfolio is engaging in several innovative projects and partnerships to prevent and manage diabetes.
The Bright Spot Initiative wrapped up its first two-year cohort of five states—Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin—with the mission of increasing enrollment of populations of focus in the National DPP lifestyle change program. Using strategies centered in health equity and incorporating collective impact approaches, more than 3,200 new participants enrolled in the National DPP lifestyle change program due to the collective efforts of participating states, their backbone organizations, and partner networks.
The Michigan team said the Bright Spot Initiative “was greatly rewarding, it allowed us to work together toward a common agenda while receiving support and technical assistance from national partners. We appreciated the opportunity to learn from others and receive feedback from subject matter experts.” States shared their lessons learned as the Bright Spot Initiative expands to include up to six more states by the end of this year.
In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NACDD awarded a contract to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) to implement the Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Learning Collaborative approach at University Health, a safety net healthcare system in Kansas City, Missouri.
The program successfully improved testing among populations at risk for CKD, increased CKD diagnoses documented accurately in medical records, and increased medication utilization among CKD-diagnosed patients. Read the program’s case stories to learn more.
The NACDD Diabetes Council is dynamic and collective. With a shared purpose of implementing effective diabetes prevention and management strategies, the Diabetes Council serves as a hub for networking, training, and numerous opportunities that empower members in their pursuit of diabetes-related objectives.
Watch Member testimonials about the benefits of participating in the Council.
Check out and share NACDD’s Facebook and LinkedIn diabetes-related posts throughout November’s National Diabetes Month.