American Diabetes Association Launches Program To Support People Newly Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 21 Apr 2011 - 5:00 PDT


Today more than 5200 people will be diagnosed with diabetes -- the majority of them with type 2 diabetes. A new American Diabetes Association initiative called the Living With Type 2 Diabetes Program was launched today to support those newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. People can enroll in this free program by visiting http://www.diabetes.org/living or calling 1-800-DIABETES.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 26 million children and adults have diabetes in the United States. Out of that number, nearly 95% have type 2 diabetes. If left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to serious complications including heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, amputation and even death.

"The moment of diagnosis is a moment of crisis for many people," said Beth Mayer-Davis, MSPH, PhD, RD, President, Health Care & Education, American Diabetes Association. "The goal of the Living With Type 2 Diabetes Program is to provide newly diagnosed patients with the right information and tools at the right time to help them manage their disease and improve their lives. The good news we want to share is that diabetes can be controlled with proper management so people can go on to live full and active lives."

The Living With Type 2 Diabetes Program has two parts:

Free Informational Booklet

The first part of the initiative is a free informational booklet. When a patient is diagnosed by his or her primary care provider, participating health care professionals will distribute the free informational booklet "Where Do I Begin? Living with Type 2 Diabetes," which is available in English or Spanish.

"We talked to people who had recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They told us what they would have wanted on the day of diagnosis: simple printed information, covering just the basics, given to them by their doctor on the day of diagnosis," commented Mayer-Davis. "In order not to overwhelm the new patients, the booklet will provide a basic introduction about living with type 2 diabetes. People will have the opportunity to receive more detailed information and tools throughout the year to help them manage their disease and improve healthy behaviors."

Free 12-Month Program

The second part of the initiative is a free, 12-month program. The program will provide lifestyle education and offer guidance to help people with diabetes learn how to manage diabetes at regular intervals throughout the year-long program. Different topics include food and nutrition, stress and emotions, physical activity and complications. Participants will also receive healthy recipes, tools to manage diabetes and opportunities for online and community support.

The program is available in English and Spanish and participants can choose to receive information online or through the mail. Those enrolled in the English version of the program will receive three free issues of the Association's award-winning magazine Diabetes Forecast.

People recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are invited to enroll in a free, 12- month program by visiting http://www.diabetes.org/living or calling 1-800-DIABETES.

Primary care providers are encouraged to order (and reorder) free copies of the booklet in English or Spanish to give to their patients by visiting http://www.diabetes.org/atdx.

The American Diabetes Association would like to thank the following companies that provided funding in support of the Living with Type 2 Diabetes Program: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kraft Foods, McNeil Nutritionals -- makers of Splenda, Sanare and its consumer company, BrightSky and the Walmart Foundation.

Source:
American Diabetes Association

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