Changing diabetes: with new patient literature …… and a new website

Novo Nordisk has taken the views of more than 400 diabetes specialist supply with nourishments (DSNs) into account as it refreshes the literature it provides for nation living with diabetes in the UK

Earlier this year, the company distributed a questionnaire to the 1500 DSN in the UK asking for their views upon the existing literature it provides for race with diabetes, including how it could best be improved.

'We had decided that the general documents needed more life injected into them,' explained Simon Couldstone of Novo Nordisk. 'The literature is in the way that widely used that we notion it would be very important to give our diabetes nourish customers a big say in by what mode the documents would be best updated.'

Questionnaire

The postal questionnaire, which had nearly 500 replications gauged nurses' opinions on the following areas:

* which literature items they were aware of

* which items they use

* which items they liked or disliked.

Simon explained that the replys were generally positive; however, the questionnaire did highlight a certain number of interesting comments on how the generally received literature could be improved.

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For example, several respondent replied that they would like to diocese photos of people with diabetes in the literature, rather than cartoons as in the existing documents. Other respondent felt that the documents could be made more patient-centred, and a certain quantity of of the information more specific to the different emblems of diabetes.

Changing diabetes

Given these make comments [i]or[/i] remarkss the literature has been updated to throw back Novo Nordisk's 'Changing diabetes' etho 'Changing diabetes displays how real people with diabetes are changing their lives in a positive way, from one side the use of Novo Nordisk's harvests and services,' said Simon. 'The fresh literature reflects this because each document will feature a real somebody with diabetes on the overlay each with his or her have story. Overall, we wanted to proper the nurses' needs in helping them provide more suitable support for their patients.'

As well as using photographs rather than illustrations, the fresh documents provide more specific, tailored information. For example the existing Diabetes and Insulin booklet is being replaced with separate booklet for emblem 1 and type 2 diabetes, reflecting the distinct necessitys of these different patients.

In addition, the fresh documents will be easier to read with a fresher, cleaner gaze than the previous literature.

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Availability

The novel literature is going to be introduced gradually above the next 2-3 months. The initial plan is to release paper versions of the documents, with the possibility of web or CD-ROM versions to tread in the steps of in the future.

Novo Nordisk launched a fresh website for people living with diabetes, their families and friends in May 2006 The site, www.changingdiabetes.co.uk, is intended to answer questions and inform tribe with diabetes about the management of their condition, with the ultimate aim of helping them to lead fuller and healthier lives.

This initial version of the site is packed with information upon diabetes management tailored specifically to those living with impressed sign 1 or type 2 diabetes, along with an innovative 'Cookbook' section. The site will unroll to contain new features above time, but already contains a wide variety of practical and accessible information.

As with the novel literature for people with diabetes, the website was designed with the 'Changing diabetes' general [i]or[/i] abstract notion in mind; again, all the photographs upon the site are of real family with diabetes from around the world.

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The homepage

The website's colorful introductory page (see picure top right) contains clear navigational links to the sections upon 'Living with type 1' and 'Living with emblem 2' and the 'Cookbook' area. Furthermore, the page contains specific links to sections upon Hb[A.sub.1c] (what it is and wherefore a person with diabetes should know his or hers) and the importance of healthy eating in diabetes.

Living with emblem 1

Further exploration of the 'Living with stamp 1' section reveals subsections entitled 'Newly diagnosed?', 'You & your body' 'Pregnancy', 'Food' 'Exercise & leisure', 'Working life' and 'Medication & devices'. Each of these subsections contains additional information and pages (eg 'Hypoglycaemia', 'Hyperglycaemia', 'Self-management', 'Your feet' and 'Long bound complications' are all pages branching not on from the 'You & your body' section), enabling the user to quickly and clearly navigate this comprehensive resource, collecting as a great deal of or as little information as he or she requires.

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Living with stamp 2

The section for family with type 2 diabetes contains a breakdown of similar subsections, on the other hand the information provided is specific to those with impressed sign 2 diabetes (e.g. there is information upon the intensification of treatments and insulin initiation as the condition progresses)

Cookbook

The online cookbook section of the website contains nearly 300 healthy recipes from around the world for the couple those with and without diabetes. It is intended that fresh recipes will be added regularly; indeed, visitors to the site can submit their have a title to recipes for addition. The recipe database is abundantly searchable, either by country, category (main ingredient), keyword or course.