Take It Back to Prevent Diabetes

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Submission Date: September 2018

State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: Missouri

States/Territories Involved: Missouri

Funding Source: CDC

CDC Funding:

Yes

CDC Funding (Specified):

(1305) State Public Health

Domain Addressed:

Community-Clinical Linkages, Environmental Approaches

Public Health Issue:

  • As many as 90% of people who have prediabetes aren’t aware that they have it.
  • Prediabetes puts people at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and its many serious complications, such as heart disease and vision loss.
  • Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed through successful participation in a National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program.

Program Action:

  • The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coordinated a media campaign called Take It Back, in partnership with private and public entities, using funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • Take It Back uses a humorous approach to encourage Missourians age 45 and older, especially African Americans and Latinos, to take a diabetes risk quiz. Quiz-takers whose results indicate a high risk for prediabetes are encouraged to get tested and enroll in an in-person or online lifestyle change program provided by a CDC-recognized organization.
  • The University of Missouri Health Communication Research Center coordinates the campaign; Elasticity, a digital marketing and public relations agency, created the media products.
  • The campaign is statewide with an emphasis on the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas because they have a higher concentration of the higher risk African American and Latino populations. A media agency, called True Media, bought the media time and/or space for radio and newspaper ads, videos in doctors’ offices, and bus displays, both inside and on the backs of buses. The campaign also included targeted website display ads and Pandora streaming music ads.
  • A website, ReverseYourRisk.com, offers information for healthcare providers, as well as patients and employers interested in lifestyle change programs. Brochures about the program are available in medical waiting rooms and other locations.

Impact/Accomplishments:

  • The Take It Back campaign generated 88 million media impressions, a significant reach number in a state with a population of six million.
  • From  January 2015 to January 2018, the number of Missourians participating in National DPP lifestyle change programs grew from 159 to 3,675, an increase of more than 2,300%. The Take It Back campaign ran during the last 20 months of this time frame.

Program Areas:

Diabetes, Health Equity and Cultural Competency

State Contact Information:

MO
Glenn Studebaker
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
573-522-2875
glenn.studebaker@health.mo.gov

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