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A Department of Health (DOH) media campaign on diabetes education was selected for Honorable Mention for the Frankie Awards at
the National Diabetes Conference to be held this month in Minneapolis, MN.
The Frankie Awards are named in honor of Frank Vinicor, MD, MPH, a former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Diabetes Translation and a founder of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), which hosts the annual conference.
“Yours was one of the many exceptional nominations we received,” NDEP officials wrote to Bureau of Health Education Director Anne Thurland, who also serves as Program Director for the Department’s Diabetes Control and Prevention Program, and responsible for the campaign.
Last year, DOH identified diabetes as a major focus among key strategic objectives for the next three years. Data collected by Department showed that the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in the Virgin Islands is 10 percent; undiagnosed and diabetes is about 5 percent with the overall prevalence at 15 percent and is among the highest in the United States. Further, among people with diabetes, the frequency of end-stage renal disease was found to be at an epidemic level and reflective of poor diabetes control and low level of diabetes education.
The media campaigns were developed with the use of a Diabetes Grant from Novo Nordisk as part of a joint venture with the Office of the Governor and the Denmark-based pharmaceutical company. The company pledged $300,000 over a three-year period for projects aimed at reducing diabetes in the Virgin Islands.
Thurland said that the NDEP liked the fact that Department representatives pre-tested the campaign materials with a target audience through use of focus groups and the innovative use of diabetes ads for the movie theaters. The ads were also produced for Television, radio and newspaper, a copy of the latter is attached.
To learn more about diabetes visit
www.healthvi.org or
www.usvidiabetes.org |
