Adapting the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program Services to the Hearing Community

 
The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP), a CDC-led lifestyle modification program that assists participants in losing weight, increasing physical activity, and adopting healthy eating habits, is one of the most successful therapies for preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes. The delivery of the National DPP can take place digitally, in person, or in a hybrid format. And since diabetes has a significant impact on the deaf population, a modified version of the program that focuses on enhancing communication may be beneficial and well-received by the deaf community.

"Deaf individuals who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) are three times more likely to have diabetes than hearing people," said the American Diabetes Association. Insufficient communication is a large part of the problem.

A German study titled "Primary non-communicable disease prevention and communication barriers of deaf sign language users: a qualitative study" focused on the issue of insufficient communication. One of the study's conclusions is as follows: "In order to develop effective diabetes and non-communicable disease prevention strategies for deaf sign language users, health care professionals need to consider sign language specific communication concepts." The National DPP might be helpful here.

National DPP sessions are available all around the country and have to meet CDC-established requirements for quality. The Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program (DPRP) was created by the CDC to single out institutions that provide the National DPP and meet quality standards. The CDC provides a complete list of the programs approved by the CDC. Using the list, which contains location information, can enable deaf community members to approach National DPP managers to discuss potential partnerships.

The following program may be of interest to those who wish to modify the National DPP to accommodate the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community. The program is the "Diabetes Prevention Program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing."

The deaf community is in need of type 2 diabetes prevention and delay. The National DPP is a good place to start. 

-------------------------------------------------------

Tags: environmental scanning, balanced scorecard, business planning, strategic management, bariatric medicine, obesity medicine, medical practice start up, bariatric industry analysis, weight loss industry analysis, weight management industry analysis