If your practice serves a lot of older patients with diabetes, tools from a new NIH campaign may be just what they need to help them manage their disease. And there's no better time to let them know about these tools than November -- National Diabetes Month.
"The Power to Control Diabetes Is in Your Hands" is an awareness campaign aimed at the 18.3 percent of adults 60 or older who have diabetes. NIH's National Diabetes Education Program recently updated the campaign, according to an NDEP press release. (PDF file: 2 pages / 27 KB. More about PDFs.)
A large number of older Americans are on fixed incomes, which can make it difficult to follow all advised self-care routines. “Older adults may find the cost of supplies and services needed to control their diabetes overwhelming,” said Griffin Rodgers, M.D., deputy director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH. “Through the Power to Control campaign, we can effectively teach older adults with diabetes that the complications from diabetes can be prevented or delayed. Through the campaign, we can also inform older adults how to access the Medicare benefits that can help cover the cost of supplies and services that can help control their disease and ultimately, improve the quality of their lives.”
Power to Control campaign materials include two primary components. One is a patient brochure, available in both Spanish and English, that focuses on the importance of a comprehensive approach to controlling diabetes by managing blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol; taking prescribed medicines; making healthy lifestyle choices; and accessing Medicare benefits. Additional patient education materials are available on the NDEP Web site.
The second campaign component is a community action kit for doctors' offices and community organizations. The kit includes diabetes information; resource lists; ideas for promoting diabetes awareness, education and control; and marketing materials.
For free copies of the kit, brochures or other campaign tools, call (800) 438-5383 or go online.
