Toolbox

Patient Education Materials

Please note: Some links on this page take you outside the Better Diabetes Care website. The NDEP does not endorse or otherwise guarantee the accuracy of links that take you out of this website.

National Diabetes Education Program
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) website offers a wide range of resources around three major public education campaigns aimed at diabetes prevention and control. These campaigns provide a wealth of tools – brochures, tip sheets, health care provider kits, public service ads, and more – that you can use to reach out to people with diabetes, people at risk, and other health care providers. NDEP’s easy-to-read materials are carefully tailored for groups at highest risk for diabetes and its complications–older adults, African Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Many materials are available in 16 languages, from Spanish to Samoan. NDEP encourages health care providers to utilize all of the resources and tools NDEP offers. Small quantities of all materials are free and materials may be reproduced or reprinted without copyright restrictions. Materials may be ordered from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse or downloaded from the NDEP website.

At the NDEP website, you can find:

• Information on Diabetes Prevention
  Find the award-winning Small Steps. Big Rewards. GAME PLAN Toolkit for Health Care Providers. This kit will help you and your staff counsel patients with pre-diabetes about the benefits of weight loss and increased physical activity and how to start their own GAME PLAN for diabetes prevention.

• Information on diabetes control
  NDEP has distilled essential information about diabetes control into easy-to-read materials for people with diabetes and their loved ones. You will find these patient materials and tools that will help promote a team approach to care for people with diabetes.

• Materials for caring for children with diabetes
  Find tip sheets for children with type 2 diabetes and a comprehensive guide for School Personnel, Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed.

• Medicare coverage of diabetes
  Find information about current Medicare benefits for people with diabetes and tools for your patients.
  ndep.nih.gov/media/MedicareandDiabetes1_PreventiveCare.pdf ndep.nih.gov/media/OA_Information_PTC.pdf betterdiabetescare.nih.gov/WHATpatientcenteredcoverage.htm

• Spanish-language materials
  Find patient education materials on the basics of diabetes control, the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and tips for preventing diabetes.

• Asian and Pacific Islander-language materials
  NDEP has adapted diabetes control and prevention materials for Asian American and Pacific Islander populations.
   

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) is an information dissemination service of the NIDDK that works closely with the NDEP, Diabetes Research and Training Centers, professional, patient, and voluntary associations, Government agencies, and state health departments, to identify and respond to informational needs about diabetes and its management. Diabetes education materials are available free or at little cost. Literature earches on myriad subjects related to diabetes are provided. NDIC publishes Diabetes Dateline, a semiannual newsletter.
 

NIH Institute and Center Resources for Diabetes
This website has a variety of diabetes resources (including some in Spanish) for consumers and patients from the following NIH Institutes and Offices: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, and Office of the Director. Find additional links to related topics, including diabetes and pregnancy, diabetic eye, foot, kidney and nerve problems and teeth and gum problems, islet cell transplantation, juvenile diabetes, pancreas transplantation, senior's health, immune system, endocrine systems (hormones), and food, nutrition, and metabolism.
 

Self-management Support Tools from Improving Chronic Illness Care (ICIC)
ICIC is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that works in collaboration with organizations and innovators to improve chronic disease health care delivery in the United States. The program supports patients and providers with tools, guidelines, specialty expertise, and information systems.

Healthy Changes Plan
www.improvingchroniccare.org/downloads/healthy_changes_plan.doc

This one-page tool enables patients to document chosen healthy changes in terms of "what, when, how, where, and how often."
 

Alaska Area Diabetes Program - Alaska Native Medical Center
This program provides a number of patient education materials including Diabetes Zones for Management. Green Zone: Great Control, Yellow Zone: Caution, Red Zone: Stop and Think www.anmc.org/services/diabetes/patientedu/upload/HGA1C%20Chart.PDF

This tool divides A1C values into "green," "yellow," and "red" management zones. Green indicates stability and good control, yellow indicates caution and suggests steps for regaining control, and red indicates a medical crisis that requires a provider's attention.
 

DiabetesInControl.com
Visit this website to find an array of tools for your practice and to educate people with diabetes. Many of the materials listed are free of charge.
 

Medicare Information
www.medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE, 1-800-633-4227, or 1-877-486-2-48 for TTY users.

What You Need to Know About Medicare and Diabetes www.ndep.nih.gov/resources/index.aspx?Age=Older+Adults
 

Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Patient Education Materials
Some organizations have developed culturally and linguistically appropriate patient education materials that may contribute to effective diabetes care. Free materials for different ethnic minority groups are available.

For African Americans; Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (15 languages), Hispanics and Latinos; and American Indians and Alaska Natives:
ndep.nih.gov/publications/
ndep.nih.gov/resources/

For African Americans:
www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/africanamericans.jsp

For American Indians and Alaska Natives:
www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/nativeamericans.jsp
www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Diabetes/

For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:
www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/asianamericans.jsp

For Hispanics and Latinos:
ndep.nih.gov/publications/Publicaciones.aspx
www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/programs/latino-programs/
 

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)
The JDRF website provides a unique service to people with diabetes and their families via an Online Diabetes Support Team. Team members are a nationwide group of volunteers, many of whom have diabetes or have loved ones with diabetes, and provide one-to-one support and practical suggestions to families affected by diabetes.

JDRF also has a website specifically for kids with diabetes, JDRF Kids Online:
kids.jdrf.org.

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