STATE DIABETES PROGRAMS

STATE DIABETES PROGRAMS

STATE DIABETES PROGRAMS

The Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is
one unit of the Federal Government's public health program. The CDC is active
against many diseases, and its Division of Diabetes Translation is particularly
active against diabetes. Of course some of this is high-level laboratory research,
but a lot takes place "on the front lines," in state and territorial
Health Departments. What does the CDC do for the states?
One way they help is by developing educational
programs that target those populations statistically at highest risk for diabetes
and its complications. Another is their financial support of state- and territory-based
diabetes control programs targeted at reducing diabetes complications. Although
these "core programs" do not themselves cover entire states, they
are meant to provide a framework for the states to build more comprehensive
programs. In several states, CDC funds "comprehensive" programs of
their own.
Specifically, CDC, as part of its long-established
mandate to statistically track disease activity, creates workgroups to define
the burden of diabetes in a given state. These groups examine vital statistics,
hospital discharge records, behavioral surveys, renal disease records, and other
sources. Resulting data are used to develop guidelines and strategies for prevention
and intervention, at the local level, including "community empowerment
programs." CDC also sponsors training initiatives, some specifically targeted
to the needs of high-risk populations.
CDC makes its national publications
available to the states, to primary health practitioners, and to consumers,
and is taking a leadership role in translating diabetes materials into Spanish.
For information about their diabetes publications, contact: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion, Mail Stop K-10, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717; telephone:
(770) 488-5015; website: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes
As the Federal Budget permits, the Centers
for Disease Control intends to expand support for its core diabetes programs
into all states and territories, and to use its national perspective to monitor
outcomes, provide new data for policymakers, translate current research findings
into effective clinical and public health strategies, and in other ways reduce
the burden of diabetes.