Partnerships in diabetes education	May 2009

By Gina-Louise Monari

Since 2008, several pharmaceutical marketers have sought the assistance of organizations and celebrities for diabetes education campaigns and initiatives.

Pharmaceutical marketers are transforming the challenge of living with diabetes into an empowering tool for education. Top pharmaceutical companies including Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Eli Lilly and Co., and Novo Nordisk have collaborated with renowned health-care organizations and celebrities on initiatives targeting professionals, patients, and consumers. Whether they are programs targeting professionals or campaigns for patients and caregivers, the goal is to educate individuals so that they are better able to take control of their health while living with diabetes.

The United States is among the top five countries comprising half of the world’s diabetes suffers. Experts believe the country needs new strategies to raise the level of care for people with diabetes, including advanced education and hands-on training of health professionals working at the local level.

Merck & Co.

In June 2008, Merck (merck.com) and Healthy Interactions Inc. (healthyi.com) expanded a multi-year relationship to transform how health-care professionals engage patients in learning about diabetes and to improve Diabetes Self-Management Education among patients. In response to strong professional feedback, Healthy Interactions and Merck began training and equipping 5,000 additional health-care professionals with the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map Program, which was developed by Healthy Interactions in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association.

The effort provides for the debut of the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map Program in Spanish, which launched in June 2008, to help connect with the about three million Hispanics and Latinos with diabetes in the United States.

Merck is sponsoring the training and distribution of these tools. Since launching at the 2007 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, the demand for the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map Program has been so strong that Healthy Interactions has surpassed its three-year goal of training 10,000 health-care professionals in 10 months. The expansion of the Conversation Map Program into the Spanish language represents an important milestone. Hispanics and Latinos have a significantly increased risk for diabetes, with Type 2 diabetes occurring at a rate about 1.7 times that in the non-Hispanic white population.
The Conversation Map Program success stems from its inventive approach. People living with diabetes are exposed to a lively, dynamic conversation where small groups of participants are captivated by a thought provoking visual and real-world dialogue between patients and between patients and diabetes educators. The Conversation Map Program taps into the transformative power of conversation to drive change and is built on the belief that people do not just learn and become engaged by hearing something; they learn by hearing, seeing, exploring, discussing, and doing.

Johnson & Johnson

To improve how practitioners deliver diabetes care in local communities, The Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute LLC (jjdi.us) opened its first training center in the United States in February 2008. Mounting evidence suggests that many health professionals lack the training and skills to combat the nation’s growing epidemic of diabetes.

The facility, based in Silicon Valley, provides comprehensive training each year for thousands of community-based nurses, physician assistants, diabetes educators, and other health professionals using a curriculum developed with national diabetes organizations and academic centers. It addresses an acute shortage of skills training in diabetes management at the community level, which practitioners cite as one of the major obstacles to improving patient outcomes.
In conjunction with the opening of the new center, the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute — joined by Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P., director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health — convened a national Town Hall where leading diabetes experts evaluated the state of diabetes care in this country. Agreeing that diabetes is reaching crisis levels, the experts cautioned that if present trends continue, one in three Americans, and one in two minorities, born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. According to experts participating in the Town Hall, reversing these trends will require addressing the many barriers that are preventing patients and providers from achieving established treatment goals.
As the prevalence of diabetes increases, health professionals worry that not enough attention is being paid to diabetes management at the community level, a problem cited by 83% of respondents. As a consequence, these practitioners cite increasing obstacles to providing better diabetes care.

The Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute built a state-of-the-art training center where, twice a week, the Institute will offer health care professionals a two-day intensive course that emphasizes training on innovative practice models and ways to use Johnson & Johnson companies’ existing diabetes tools and technologies in real time to solve patient problems. National diabetes specialists developed the curriculum and will teach specific courses, and the Institute will underwrite the program costs for those health-care professionals that attend.

In addition to the new training center in the United States, the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute also operates a training facility in Japan and, by mid-2008, the company will open new centers in China and France. Future plans also call for expanded reach within countries and across the globe via distance learning offerings. Ultimately, the Institute’s graduation of exceptionally skilled professionals will provide an opportunity for a global network of alumni to link with one another through the Institute, sharing information and insights on diabetes care.

Bayer

Bayer Diabetes Care (bayerdiabetes.com) is offering new educational resources and services that help simplify life with diabetes. In August 2008, the company embarked on a new chapter in its partnership with Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of the bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and a new partnership with Fit4D (fit4d.com), an organization that provides personalized diabetes coaching.

Bayer Diabetes Care, in partnership with Dr. Covey, is introducing The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes Workbook and companion guide for health-care professionals, a unique resource for health-care professionals to help people with diabetes manage their disease. The workbook provides a step-by-step approach to applying Dr. Covey’s “7 Habits” to meeting the everyday challenges of life with diabetes and will be offered through a forthcoming personal motivation program.

Building on the success of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes booklet released in 2007, this new educational tool provides health-care professionals with a guide to assist patients through each of the habits to help them make necessary lifestyle changes. Newly diagnosed patients and those who have been living with diabetes for many years are taught how to incorporate the “7 Habits” into their individual diabetes management plans.

In addition, Bayer Diabetes Care announced a partnership with Fit4D, an innovative service that provides personalized diabetes coaching with a team of Certified Diabetes Educators, which includes nurses, exercise physiologists, registered dietitians and personal trainers, who integrate motivational support with fitness and nutrition planning. Fit4D programs focus on empowering people with diabetes to live healthy and fulfilling lives by providing one-on-one support. Through the partnership, Bayer will strengthen its educational offerings for people living with diabetes through various programs, including: educational webinars, interactive classes with Fit4D coaches, monthly tips and opportunities to win one-on-one personal coaching packages.

Fit4D served as a consultant to Bayer Diabetes Care and Dr. Covey on the development of the health-care professional guide. According to Sandra Peterson, president of Bayer Diabetes Care, the company received more than 10,000 requests in 2007 for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes booklet indicating the strong demand for the company to create additional resources. With Dr. Covey, Bayer Diabetes Care designed this new guide to provide a valuable tool that addresses the challenges that health-care professionals and people with diabetes face in managing the disease.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes Workbook Guide for Healthcare Professionals, as well as a patient version, includes an audio CD that provides an introduction to the “7 Habits” and a companion weekly planner. These materials will be used by health-care professionals through a program that will soon be introduced by Bayer Diabetes Care.

In addition, Bayer embarked on initiatives geared toward young people and their families who need help simplifying their life with diabetes. Nick Jonas, the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers established his role as a diabetes ambassador by launching a partnership with Bayer Diabetes Care in August 2008.
Nick and Bayer kicked off their long-term partnership, with Bayer making an initial large donation to the Change for the Children Foundation to support Nick’s goal of helping children with diabetes. The Foundation is a Jonas Brothers organization that provides support to programs that motivate and inspire children to face adversity with confidence, determination and a will to succeed. The partnership will provide resources and information during the next few years specifically designed for young people with diabetes to help them simplify their lives and successfully manage their disease.

Nick, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 13 years old, is passionate about sharing his personal story because he knows so many young people like him can feel alone and even embarrassed by the disease.

Bayer and Nick share a common goal of helping people with diabetes simplify their lives by achieving “Simple Wins”: small, everyday victories for managing the disease that can lead to big differences over time. For Nick, a Simple Win is about making other kids with diabetes feel like they can live their dreams and have a positive outlook.

Through the partnership, young people with diabetes and their families can log on to www.NicksSimpleWins.com, where they can check out more about Nick’s personal experiences. Nick will be blogging about his latest activities, giving updates on chances to meet him in person and sharing ideas on how to achieve Simple Wins. Also available to download is “A Little Bit Longer,” a new single released yesterday and the title track to the Jonas Brothers’ upcoming album. Nick wrote this song when he was having a particularly hard day managing his diabetes and feels supported when his fans sing along to the lyrics.
Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. With type 1 diabetes, your body makes little or no insulin, which may result in many complications if glucose levels are not controlled.

Eli Lilly and Co.

Lilly Diabetes (lillydiabetes.com) partnered with legendary swimmer Gary Hall Jr. in June 2008, and Grammy-nominated, singer-songwriter Angie Stone in April 2008 on diabetes initiatives as well.

Mr. Hall serves as ambassador for the “Inspired By Diabetes” (inspiredbydiabetes.com) campaign. The campaign is a competition that encourages all people touched by diabetes, particularly children and their families, to share their stories through visual and written creative expressions such as art, essays, poems, or photography.

By entering the competition, participants have a direct affect on the lives of children with diabetes around the world. For each entry into the contest, Lilly provides funds to support the care of children with diabetes in the developing world through the International Diabetes Federation’s Life for a Child Program. In honor of participants from the United States in 2007-08, Lilly made a $50,000 donation to the American Diabetes Association for scholarships for children from lower-income families to attend ADA diabetes camps.

A 10-time medalist in the Summer Games, Mr. Hall uses his celebrity status to serve as a powerful advocate for diabetes awareness, education, and funding, sharing his message of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. In addition, he has testified in front of the U.S. Congress advocating for more funding for diabetes research, serves as a celebrity advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and was the recipient of the first and only USA Swimming Humanitarian Award for his work to raise awareness of diabetes.

Hall swam to fame during the 1996 Atlanta Games, when he won silver in the 50 freestyle and gold as a member of two American relay teams. He was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999, and a year later, defied the odds by winning his first individual gold in the 50 freestyle in Sydney in 2000; in 2004 in Athens he became, at 29 years old, the oldest male in 80 years to win gold for the U.S. team. His third Olympic appearance also made history in another way: Gary Hall Sr. and Jr. became the first father-son duo to compete in the Summer Games three times.

Ms. Stone teamed up with Lilly in April 2008 to launch the national “Fearless African-Americans Connected and Empowered Diabetes” campaign, also known as “F.A.C.E.,” to encourage African-Americans with diabetes to take control and learn how to better manage their disease.
Based on in-depth research of African-Americans with diabetes, insights from physicians and various national and local health advocacy organizations, and a successful pilot program in Chicago, the campaign launched nationally and rolled out in various metropolitan cities throughout the year. The campaign rollout began in Atlanta in May 2008, followed by Washington, D.C. and Indianapolis.

Through a series of practical and sustainable programs in local communities, the campaign’s goal is to help foster behavioral and attitudinal changes in areas critical to success in managing diabetes such as nutrition/cooking, physical activity, health, and overall well-being. In addition, the diabetes campaign also has a comprehensive online component, face-diabetes.com, which includes diabetes information, health and nutrition tips and recipes, details about upcoming events around the country, Ms. Stone’s personal journey with diabetes, and inspirational messages from Ms. Stone and diabetes/nutrition experts.

Despite significant treatment advances and a wide variety of patient education and support programs, the incidence of diabetes and its resulting medical complications continues to rapidly rise. Moreover, African-Americans in the United States are disproportionately affected by diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than three million African-Americans are diagnosed with diabetes, and additional research suggests about one million African-Americans remain undiagnosed.
Novo Nordisk

Academy Award winning actress Olympia Dukakis and her husband, actor Louis Zorich have teamed up with Novo Nordisk (novonordisk.com) to launch the Ask.Screen.Know. awareness campaign to educate people about Medicare’s free diabetes screening benefit. In particular, they want people who are 65 years and older to ask their doctors to get screened for diabetes and to know their blood sugar numbers.

During their last annual screening, the couple found out that Louis has type-2 diabetes. Now, with help from his doctor and his wife, Louis is learning to manage his diabetes. When Olympia and Louis learned that that an alarming seven out of 10 U.S. adults age 65 and older have diabetes or pre-diabetes and less than 10% of older adults in Medicare were taking advantage of the free diabetes screening benefit, they knew they had to do something.

Olympia and Louis want people 65 years old and older who are at-risk and enrolled in Medicare to know that they are eligible for free diabetes screenings. “It’s free, it’s simple, and you’re entitled to it!” Olympia says.

The campaign site AskScreenKnow.com launches Mon., May 18, featuring Olympia and Louis’ story, words of encouragement, as well as useful health tools that will help determine if individuals are eligible for a free diabetes screening from Medicare. The Website even enables visitors to send emails and/or voicemails to friends and family from Olympia Dukakis to encourage them to take advantage of the Medicare diabetes screening benefit.