Strategic Plan

The Diabetes Advisory Council Strategic Objectives for 2001-2004:

Mission:

Provide statewide leadership to continuously improve the lives of all Floridians with diabetes and reduce the burden of diabetes.

Goals of the Council:

1. Assure diverse representation that considers geographic, ethnic, age, professional health care, diabetes community, and payor.
2. Promote public/private partnerships to help achieve the mission.
3. Advocate, educate and advise government, academic centers, health care providers, and voluntary agencies on diabetes issues.
4. Assist in the implementation of the Florida Diabetes Control Program.

Secondary Functions of the Council:

• Serve as a forum for the discussion and study of issues related to the public health approach for the delivery of health care services to persons with diabetes.
• By June 30 of each year, meet with the Secretary of the Department of Health to make specific recommendations regarding the public health aspects of the prevention and control of diabetes.

Strategic Objectives for 2001-2004

The following are strategic objectives and activities for Year 01 of the plan:

Objective 1:

Educate and advise government, academic centers, health care providers, voluntary organizations, people with diabetes, other appropriate organizations, and the public on diabetes prevention and on the needs of patients with diabetes and their families.

Increase Awareness of Diabetes

• Support national health observances and provide guidance to the Diabetes Control Program on recognition strategies, including Governor Proclamations.
• Bring together national diabetes organizations for coordinated awareness of diabetes and diabetes months.
• Establish and participate in diabetes education day at the Capitol.
• Participate in existing and complementary "Days at the Capitol".
• Participate in Rally for Cure 2001.
• Meet with Governor and/or Secretary of the Department of Health on a semi-annual basis for advising them on emerging diabetes issues and establish ad hoc committees for special issues within the Diabetes community.
• Create an ongoing stream of communication to the Secretary on the progress of the Council.

Information Availability to Public

• Strengthen the DAC web site and other linkages. Develop a Web site that includes Florida research studies available for participation, including the three university-based diabetes centers, the podiatric center, and the Nova-Southeastern program.
• Recommend diabetes data sets for review and use in state-level planning and evaluation. Work with the Diabetes Control Program in developing targeted distribution lists for statistics, including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Statewide Education Coordination

• Identify DAC members and interested others to serve as speakers for state-level and local presentations which promote comprehensive disease management.
• Organize DAC town hall meetings around the state. (Speaker's Bureau)
• Invite community representatives to participate in DC sponsored events.
• Use public access TV/radio to promote diabetes awareness.
• Promote the National Diabetes Education Program as community resources for replication.
• Sponsor a summit for gathering statewide on diabetes issues, including pregnancy.
• Utilize existing educational activities to further diabetes information, including the State Farm mentoring program.

Objective 2:

Promote, advise, and evaluate the implementation of the Florida Diabetes Medical Practice Guidelines and other diabetes standards and guidelines, including public school guidelines.

Diabetes and Youth-Community, Family, Schools

• Assist in the development of educational programs directed to school system staff on Type 2 diabetes.
• Recommend strategies for healthy eating for reducing type 2 diabetes in youth, specifically targeted to ninth to twelfth grade adolescents who are most at-risk for eating disorder.
• Recommend strategies on proper nutrition and exercise in the school systems for preventing overweight and obesity.
• Advocate policy improvement within schools on managing diabetes and preventing type 2 diabetes.
• Increase awareness of parents through Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) on the relationship between overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes.
• Increase awareness of parents through PTAs on accommodations provided through federal regulation on managing diabetes in school systems. Parents need to know what is to be accommodated in schools and what is the parent's responsibility.

School System

• Provide guidance to the School Health Program and the Diabetes Control Program on appropriate resources for community use.
• Develop standardized guidance on the essential elements of care for children with diabetes in the school system.
• Support insurance company efforts to educate students and/or teachers on diabetes issues with supplemental materials.

Medicaid/Medicare

• Complete and evaluation of treatment, supplies, and medication provided for people with diabetes by Medicaid and Medicare.
• Make recommendations on gaps in treatment, supplies, and medication for providing comprehensive care to all people with diabetes.
• Develop DAC position paper on the state of diabetes care in Florida.
• Create strategies for informing the public of changes in coverage.

Hospitalization

• Review hospitalization discharge trend data before and after the dissemination of the Florida Medical Practice Guidelines.
• Develop diabetes hospitalization criteria.
• Recommend criteria for comprehensive inpatient care.
• Review American Diabetes Association guidance.
• Guide the development of a position paper for statewide distribution.

Florida Diabetes Medical Practice Guidelines

• Assume an active role in receiving and evaluating reactions of the practice guidelines.
• Create more inclusive work groups including representation from nursing, dietetic association and other associations related to diabetes to endorse and implement the practice guidelines.
• Contact and advise quality assurance key staff within hospitals to assure that the diabetes practice guidelines are known and implemented.

Objective 3:

Strengthen the funding of the Diabetes Control Program, and serve as advisory board to the program.

• Develop funding strategies to augment state resources for achieving DAC objectives, such as a Diabetes awareness license plate.
• Support the Diabetes Control Program through letters of support and guidance as needed.

The following are objectives and activities for Year 02 and beyond:

Objective 4:

Assist and advise in developing, establishing, and maintaining a data base system for monitoring the epidemiology of diabetes in Florida.

Objective 4a:

Assist in establishing a data base system for monitoring the diabetes centers.

Objective 4b:

Generate accurate data regarding the direct and indirect costs of the burden and care of diabetes in Florida.

• Develop a data retrieval system.
• Support the development of specialized registries.
• Offer free, approved educational materials for children through participation in a diabetes registry.

Objective 5:

Promote public/partnerships (implementation strategy).

• Seek out additional funds for implementing model programs in schools to permit intervention on behalf of all children with diabetes in the school system.
• Advise the Florida Blind Services and rehabilitation services division on appropriate guidelines for prevention of retinopathy.

Objective 6:

Stimulate clinical research, create a clearinghouse, translate the research, and make the results of that research available to Florida residents.

• Develop strategies to better disseminate research protocols.
• Present updates on research from universities at each DAC meeting.

Objective 7:

Increase awareness of the Diabetes Advisory Council and maintain diverse representation.

• Promote events that increase awareness of the Diabetes Advisory Council.
• Disseminate information about DAC to all diabetes interested agencies.
• Create web page for the DAC.
• Promote the role of the DAC in educating and advocating.
• Increase the number and visibility of DAC-sponsored events.

The following issues facing Florida and residents were identified as important diabetes-related issues for the Diabetes Advisory Council to consider:

• Need for education to increase general awareness of diabetes, school system awareness, and health care professional awareness. The need for awareness is key, everything stems from awareness. Awareness will lead to support.
• Need for reimbursement for education and care to impact the number of health care professionals who will enter and remain in the field.
• Development of vision screening criteria for the uninsured to prevent vision loss. (Division of Blind Services, Vocational Rehabilitation).
• Need to increase attention to pregnancy issues, gestational and diabetes-complicated pregnancy. This involves DAC representation, professional education, overall awareness of risks, screening, community education, referrals, standards of care, and medicinal therapy as it relates to pregnancy issues.
• Outreach to the undiagnosed population and promote early detection. It is essential to increase early detection to avoid diagnosis after complications have started.
• Implementation issues -the way education is approached, increased connection to community and communities for diverse populations and community-based care and location.
• Need for age-related focus. The prevalence of diabetes increases with age and Florida's population is an aging population.
• Need for increasing comfort levels of patients with diabetes, to reduce intimidation, anxiety, and fear.
• Council needs to lead the evaluation of the practice guidelines. Systematic research is need to determine if the guidelines have changed anything in the practice areas.
• Need for a database to identify, measure, and quantify the extent of Diabetes problems within Florida.
• Development and implementation of uniform school guidelines for children with diabetes.
• Need for increased availability and accessibility of services (insurance reimbursement).
• Inadequate number of health care professionals who are knowledgeable in the area of diabetes.
• Increased funding for achieving strategic plan.

DIABETES ADVISORY COUNCIL

The recommended changes in the mission statement have been made by the legislature. Issues regarding the mission statement included:

• Developing coalitions to increase awareness, investigate the priorities in program.
• Possible need for representation of OB/GYN on the DAC.
• Possible need for a Statewide summit (pre-counseling, while pregnant, and child with Type 2 in diabetes)