The Indian Health Service has just released the Special Diabetes Program for Indians 2014 Report to Congress, Changing the Course of Diabetes: Turning Hope into Reality publication. This document provides a concise update on the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) and is available online [PDF - 472 KB].
This Report to Congress highlights the SDPI’s ongoing and outstanding accomplishments in helping to improve the quality of diabetes care and health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people. It reviews recent data that show the following successes:
- Increases in diabetes prevalence rates in adults are slowing
- In youth, diabetes remains rare and prevalence rates are not increasing
- Long-term control of key diabetes clinical measures is being sustained
- The end-stage renal disease incidence rate in people with diabetes is decreasing
The SDPI program recently awarded grant awards totaling approximately $138 million to prevent and treat diabetes in AI/AN people. Grant funds went to a total of 301 Tribes, Tribal organizations, Urban Indian organizations and IHS facilities. View the list of awardees [PDF - 398 KB].
SDPI grantees have successfully implemented innovative interventions in AI/AN communities across the nation to address the epidemic of diabetes. Guided by both the scientific literature and community-driven priorities, the SDPI has helped the grantees, Tribal leaders and IHS collectively build one of the most strategic and comprehensive diabetes treatment and prevention programs in the United States.
For more information on the Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention visit http://www.diabetes.ihs.gov .
Dr. Ann Bullock is board-certified Family Physician and the Director of the IHS Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention (DDTP). DDTP provides information and resources to strengthen clinical, public health, and community approaches for diabetes treatment and prevention in AI/AN communities throughout the United States.
