Achievement of Weight Loss and Other Requirements of the Diabetes Prevention and Recognition Program: A National Diabetes Prevention Program Network Based on Nationally Certified Diabetes Self-management Education Programs

Purpose The purpose of this report is (1) to describe the use of the American Association of Diabetes Educators' (AADE's) model of implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program through nationally certified diabetes self-management education (DSME) programs and (2) to report the aggregated program outcomes as defined by the Diabetes Prevention and Recognition Program standards of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Methods In 2012, the AADE worked with the CDC to select 30 certified DSME programs for National Diabetes Prevention Program delivery. For the following 3 years, the AADE continued to work with 25 of the 30 original programs. Results for all CDC recognition standards have been collected from these 25 programs and analyzed as aggregated data over the course of 36 months. Results At the end of the full-year program, average percentage body weight loss for participants across all 25 programs exceeded the CDC's minimum requirement of 5% weight loss. All programs on average met the CDC requirements for program attendance. Conclusion Increasing access to the National Diabetes Prevention Program, through an array of networks, including certified DSME programs, will better ensure that people are able to engage in an effective approach to reducing their risk of diabetes.