DisforDiabetes: Diabetes Organizations

Diabetes Organizations (February 16, 2007)
As people interested in diabetes soon discover, there are a lot of organizations out there to help. Many of them have abbreviations for their full names that us old-timers sort of take for granted. So we throw around terms like ADA and JDRF and IDF and AACE and AADE and IDF and NIDDK and many more, without remembering how long it took us to learn the diabetes alphabet soup. So, I thought I’d spend some time describing some of these organizations. Here goes, alphabetically:

AACE: The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

An organization of endocrinologists, mostly but not all in the United States.

Quote: “Members of AACE are physicians with special education, training and interest in the practice of clinical endocrinology. These physicians devote a significant part of their career to the evaluation and management of patients with endocrine disease. All members of AACE are physicians (M.D. or D.O.) and a majority is certified by Boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Members of AACE are recognized clinicians, educators and scientists, many of whom are affiliated with medical schools and universities. Members of AACE contribute on a regular and continuing basis to the scientific literature on endocrine diseases and conduct medical education programs on this subject.”

Website: www.aace.com.

Interesting webpage: Find an Endocrinologist.

AADE: The American Association of Diabetes Educators.

An organization of diabetes educators, mostly nurses and dietitians, but some other health professionals. Mostly but not all in the United States.

Quote: “Founded in 1973, the American Association of Diabetes Educators is a multidisciplinary professional membership organization of healthcare professionals dedicated to integrating successful self-management as a key outcome in the care of people with diabetes and related conditions.”

Website: www.aadenet.org.

Interesting webpage: Find a diabetes educator.

ADA: The American Diabetes Association.

An organization of diabetes healthcare professionals and interested lay members. The biggest not-for-profit diabetes organization in the Unites States.

Quote: “The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reaching hundreds of communities.”

Website: www.diabetes.org

Interesting webpage: Diabetes Camp listing.

ADA: The American Dietetic Association.

An organization of dietitians.

Quote: “The American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. ADA members are the nation's food and nutrition experts, translating the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living.”

Website: www.eatright.org

Interesting webpage: Food and Nutrition Information.

IDF: The International Diabetes Federation.

An international association of diabetes professional organizations.

Quote: “The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is a worldwide alliance of 200 diabetes associations in 158 countries, who have come together to enhance the lives of people with diabetes everywhere. For over 50 years, IDF has been at the vanguard of global diabetes advocacy. The Federation is committed to raising global awareness of diabetes, promoting appropriate diabetes care and prevention, and encouraging activities towards finding a cure for the different types of diabetes. It is the mission of IDF to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide.”

Website: www.idf.org

Interesting webpage: Care & Education.

JDRF: The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.

An organization seeking a cure for type 1 diabetes through support of research.

Quote: “JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes children suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation. Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1 billion to diabetes research…”

Website: www.jdrf.org

Interesting webpage: http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=101984 [Clinical trials].

(Note: The JDRF previously called itself JDF, and many folks still call it that.)

NDEP: The National Diabetes Education Program.

A partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations.

Quote: “The National Diabetes Education Program is a federally funded program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and includes over 200 partners at the federal, state, and local levels, working together to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes.”

Website: www.ndep.nih.gov

Interesting webpage: Resources for Health, Education, and Business Professionals.
NIDDK: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

This agency has some of the US Government’s major diabetes programs.

Quote: “The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases conducts and supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health. The Institute supports much of the clinical research on the diseases of internal medicine and related subspecialty fields as well as many basic science disciplines.”

Website: www2.niddk.nih.gov

Interesting webpage: Diabetes A-Z List of Topics and Titles.