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The National Diabetes Education Program Overview

Purpose

Founded in 1997, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is a federally-sponsored initiative that involves public and private partners in efforts to improve diabetes management and outcomes, promote early diagnoses, and prevent or delay the onset of diabetes in the United States and its territories.

Sponsors

NDEP is jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health and the Division of Diabetes Translation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the support of more than 200 partner organizations.

Need

Diabetes is one of the nation’s leading causes of death and disability. An estimated 23.6 million children and adults (of whom 5.7 million are undiagnosed) have diabetes and are at risk for disabling and life-threatening complications, such as heart attack and stroke, and kidney, eye, and nerve disease. Another estimated 57 million adults have prediabetes and are at high risk for diabetes. Research shows that type 2 diabetes and much of the illness and premature death caused by diabetes can be prevented or delayed.

Goal

NDEP’s goal is to reduce the burden of diabetes and prediabetes by facilitating the adoption of proven approaches to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes and its complications.

Objectives

• Increase awareness and knowledge of the seriousness of diabetes, its risk factors, and effective strategies for preventing complications associated with diabetes and preventing type 2 diabetes.
• Increase the number of people who live well with diabetes and effectively manage their disease to prevent or delay complications and improve quality of life.
• Decrease the number of Americans with undiagnosed diabetes.
• Among people at risk for type 2 diabetes, increase the number who make and sustain effective lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes.
• Facilitate efforts to improve diabetes-related health care and education, as well as systems for delivering care.
• Reduce health disparities in populations disproportionately burdened by diabetes.
• Facilitate the incorporation of evidenced-based research findings into health care practices.

Audiences/Outreach

NDEP addresses and engages:

• Children and adults with diabetes, their families, and caregivers
• Children and adults at risk for type 2 diabetes and their families
• Populations disproportionately burdened by diabetes and its complications
• Health care professionals, community health workers/promotores, and peers
• Community and health care focused organizations, media, businesses, schools, non-traditional partners, and other groups concerned about diabetes

Strategies

• Promote and implement culturally and linguistically-appropriate diabetes awareness and education campaigns.
• Identify, disseminate and support the adoption of evidence-based, culturally and linguistically-appropriate tools and resources that support behavior change, improved quality of life, and better diabetes outcomes.
• Expand NDEP reach and visibility through collaborations with public, private, and nontraditional partners, and use of national, state, and local media, traditional and social media, and other relevant channels.
• Conduct and support the evaluation of NDEP resources, promotions, and other activities to improve future NDEP initiatives.

Partner Involvement

NDEP partners are key to NDEP’s success and work with NDEP in a variety of ways to:

• Integrate NDEP’s messages, materials, and tools into their ongoing activities and promote them within their organization and to partners and their constituents.
• Provide input to NDEP on how to effectively reach and engage the populations they serve.
• Adopt, adapt, co-brand and/or evaluate NDEP messages and materials for their audiences, as appropriate.
• Collaborate with local and national organizations to extend the reach of NDEP messages, materials, and tools.
• Work with NDEP to address community and diabetes-related social determinants of health to improve diabetes prevention and care.

NDEP’s reach and impact is directly linked to a partnership network of more than 200 organizations. View a complete list of partners >

To learn more about NDEP or to become a partner, contact:

Visit the partner section of the NDEP website>

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