“Get Informed! Get Tested! Get Healthy!”
¡Infórmate!, ¡Examínate!, ¡Cuídate!
In many Latino neighborhood across the nation, it’s hard to find a family that has not been personally affected by diabetes, despite the wide diversity of these communities and the number of countries of origin they represent. More than three million Latino adults have been diagnosed with diabetes nationwide and an additional two million are estimated to be living with undiagnosed diabetes. Another twelve million Latinos have pre-diabetes, a condition in which the blood sugar level is higher than normal but not yet in the range for diabetes.
New York City, where the prevalence of diabetes has more than doubled over the past 10 years, represents the epicenter of the Latino diabetes crisis. More than 300,000 Latino adults in New York City have diabetes, representing a prevalence rate (13%) that is more than twice that of whites. In Latino neighborhoods like East Harlem and the South Bronx, almost 20% of the adult population has diabetes. Latino children also have the highest rates of obesity in the city, suggesting they are likely to experience the most significant increase in diabetes in the decades to come. In sum, the diabetes epidemic represents a state of health emergency for the Latino community.
As a response to this grave challenge, Mount Sinai, with the support of the Hispanic Federation, is launching a public education campaign that is long overdue: “Get Informed! Get Tested! Get Healthy!” (¡Infórmate!, ¡Examínate!, ¡Cuídate!). This year-long public education initiative targets the Latino community, encouraging early detection, prevention, proper treatment and care of diabetes. It represents the commitment by both organizations to focus on improving the health of our communities.
The campaign will strive to educate and empower the Latino community on healthy lifestyle choices needed to prevent diabetes and leading care and treatment options available to Latinos living with the disease. It will also employ a broad multi-pronged communications and media strategy and a “high-touch” grassroots mobilization effort, including: public service announcements on radio and television, editorials in key Spanish language newspapers, community forums, roundtable discussions, and physician and health advocate trainings.
“Get Informed! Get Tested! Get Healthy!” is being actively supported by key institutions such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Puerto Rican Family Institute, Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly, Alianza Dominicana, Spanish Speaking Elderly Council, RAIN and other community based organizations. Campaign materials and tools will be provided to community-based organizations to assist in their efforts to stem diabetes. Mount Sinai and the Hispanic Federation will also work with key partners to develop a city-wide diabetes testing calendar where individuals can easily identify free testing sites throughout the course of the year.