National Diabetes Month 2013

Talking Points & Tips for Working with the Media

 

What is National Diabetes Month?

National Diabetes Month, observed each year in November, is a time for communities across the country – and the world – to shine a spotlight on diabetes and encourage action to change the way diabetes is treated.

Why is awareness about diabetes important?

·         Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes.

·         Another 79 million adults in the United States have prediabetes, a condition that increases their chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

·         If left undiagnosed or untreated, diabetes can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, amputation and even death. With early diagnosis and treatment, people with diabetes may prevent the development of these health problems.

·         The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 is $245 billion, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity.

When is World Diabetes Day? 

World Diabetes Day takes place on November 14^th every year and is an official United Nations World Day. The date was chosen because it marks the birthday of Frederick Banting, who, along with Charles Best, is credited with the discovery of insulin.

What is the National Diabetes Education Program’s (NDEP) theme for National Diabetes Month?

NDEP’s theme for National Diabetes Month is: Diabetes is a Family Affair.

Diabetes is a challenging disease that affects the entire family in many ways. This theme reinforces the work of NDEP and its partners who are working with individuals, families and communities to take action and encourage simple, but important lifestyle changes to improve their health – particularly if they have diabetes or are at risk for the disease.

1. If You Have a Family History of Diabetes, You Are At Risk.

·         If you have a mother, father, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes, you are at risk for type 2 diabetes.

·         Women who had gestational diabetes when they were pregnant are at risk for developing diabetes in the future, and so is their child from that pregnancy.

·         The good news is that you can prevent or delay type 2 by losing a small amount of weight (if you are overweight), and by being more physically active.

·         Talk to your family and find out if you have a family history of diabetes. If you have a family history of diabetes, make sure you share this information with your doctor.

·         You can’t change your family health history, but knowing about it can help you change your future.

·         Visit the National Diabetes Education Program at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org for more information.

Note to partners:  Here are just a few examples of some NDEP resources that you can use to raise awareness about diabetes risk and family health history:

·         Family Health History Quiz asks four true/false questions to help people better understand their family health history of diabetes.

·         Questions You Should Ask Your Family about Diabetes and Family Health History offers ways to help you talk with your family about your family’s health history of diabetes.

·         Small Steps. Big Rewards. Your GAME PLAN to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes helps people assess their risk for developing type 2 diabetes and implement a program to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. This resource includes an activity tracker and a fat and calorie counter.

2. If You – Or Someone You Love – Has Diabetes, Family Support Is Important.

·         If you are living with diabetes or have a loved one with the disease, it is important to work together to manage diabetes to stay healthy and prevent complications.

·         Research has shown that people with diabetes can lower their risk for serious health problems related to diabetes by managing the ABCs of diabetes—A1C, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol—and stopping smoking.

·         Having a strong family support system helps people with diabetes cope with the day-to-day challenges associated with the disease.

·         Managing diabetes isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Managing diabetes can be easier if you set goals and make a plan.

·         Visit the National Diabetes Education Program at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org for more information.

Note to partners: Here are just a few examples of some NDEP resources that you can use to raise awareness about managing diabetes and family support:

·         4 Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life is a booklet that shares four key steps to help people with diabetes understand, monitor, and manage their diabetes to help them stay healthy.

·         Help a Loved One with Diabetes provides practical tips for helping a loved one cope with diabetes and things you can do to help.

·         Tasty Recipes for People with Diabetes and Their Families is a bilingual recipe booklet that can help families make healthy food choices without giving up the foods they love.

3. Help Your Community Stay Healthy.

·         Community settings such as schools, worksites, senior centers, and places of worship are part of an extended family, and so is your health care team.

·         The National Diabetes Education Program has resources that can be used in a variety of settings to support community outreach around diabetes. Visit www.YourDiabetesInfo.org for more information.

Note to partners: Here are just a few examples of some NDEP resources that you can use to raise awareness about diabetes and help your community stay healthy:

·         Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel (School Guide) is a comprehensive guide to help students with diabetes, their health care team, school staff, and parents work together to help students manage their diabetes safely and effectively in the school setting.

·         DiabetesAtWork.org can help the business community assess the impact of diabetes in the workplace and develop a diabetes prevention or management program.

·         Practice Transformation for Physicians and Health Care Teams is designed for health care professionals and administrators who want to change systems of health care delivery around diabetes.

·         The Road to Health Toolkit is a bilingual toolkit that can help you start a community outreach program reinforcing the message that type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented.

·         Diabetes HealthSense is an online library of resources for living well. This resource is designed to provide people with diabetes, people at risk for the disease, and people who care for them with easy access to useful tools and programs that support the behavior change process.

 

Media Relations Tips

The NDEP has developed the following media relations tips to help NDEP partners promote National Diabetes Month in their communities. The NDEP has also developed an online toolkit to provide partners with ideas and resources to support their National Diabetes Month outreach efforts available at [www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/DiabetesMonth2013].

Traditional Media – Print, Television, Radio

·         First you need to determine your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? This could include people with diabetes, people at risk for type 2 diabetes, employers, school administrators, etc.

·         Think of an angle for your story. What makes it interesting, unique, or generally newsworthy? This is important for getting media coverage.

·         Contact your local paper, television, and/or radio station about your story or event. Do your homework on the media outlets and reporters at those outlets with which you are working. Research them online and read previously published stories on your topic, or similar topics, so that you know the best angle/approach when offering your story.

·         When you speak with reporters, understand that their time is limited and be prepared to give them your pitch. Always ask if it is a good time to talk. If it is not, find out a more convenient time to follow up. If a reporter contacts you, always ask what their deadline is so you can respond to their request in a timely fashion.

·         Try to localize your story. Focus on local people, events, organizations, and/or statistics specific to your area; it will make the information more newsworthy in the eyes of a writer or reporter. To find more diabetes statistics and prevalence rates for your area, visit http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ddtstrs/ or your state department of health.

·         Be prepared to offer access to local people who can speak to the subject. Some examples could include a health care professional, a person with diabetes, a parent of a student with diabetes, a community leader working to raise awareness about diabetes, etc.

·         Offering individuals from your organization or community to be interviewed for a potential feature story may help add a human element to the story. (For example, offering someone who is proactively taking steps to find out if they are at risk for type 2 diabetes because they have a family history of the disease may be of more interest to a reporter than simply offering the diabetes prevalence statistics alone.)

·         Provide reporters with additional materials developed by NDEP and available at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/DiabetesMonth2013.

Social Media

·         Utilize social media. Consumers are increasingly using online social technologies such as blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, and podcasts to discuss health issues and to find health information.

·         Don’t forget to follow NDEP on Twitter @NDEP (www.twitter.com/NDEP), become a fan on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/ndepgov), and look for our videos on YouTube (www.youtube.com/ndepgov). Feel free to “re-tweet” and share NDEP posts with your social media friends.

·         Find sample messages for Facebook and Twitter at www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/DiabetesMonth2013.

Event Promotion

·         Invite local media to your event ahead of time using the sample National Diabetes Month news release and follow up with them prior to the event using a reminder e-mail.

·         If you are hosting an event, have credible sources such as an organization spokesperson on hand to provide quotes to and answer questions from members of the media.

·         Have informative materials on hand, such as the news release, feature articles, and diabetes statistics and prevalence rates. These can provide background information to journalists and help them craft their stories. To view the campaign toolkit materials, visit www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/DiabetesMonth2013.

Interview Preparation

·         Answer one question at a time and make your most important points first.

·         Anticipate questions ahead of time and think about how you can answer those questions in a way that will ensure that you communicate your key messages. For instance, if you are asked a question that does not relate to your interview topic, you can bridge to a response to bring you back to your key message such as, “That’s interesting, but what’s important to know is that if you have a mother, father, brother or sister with diabetes, you could be at risk for the disease.”

·         If you are asked a question and you don’t know the answer, say so. You don’t have to be an expert on everything. However, you can offer to get back to the reporter with the information and follow up as soon as possible after the interview.

·         For broadcast interviews, try to respond in short sound bites (20-second or less answers). Focus on the most important messages you want to get across about diabetes.