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.