Diabetes Dateline
Spring/Summer 2008

NIDDK Publications Win NIH Plain Language Awards

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) received recognition in this year's National Institutes of Health (NIH) Plain Language Awards Competition.

The NIDDK Awareness and Prevention Series was honored with a gold award and the easy-to-read booklet What I need to know about Bladder Control for Women won a bronze. An awards ceremony was held at the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD, on April 15.

The NIDDK Awareness and Prevention Series, created for health fairs and similar events, presents brief overviews in English and Spanish of common health problems in a colorful, two-page format. Designed for people not yet diagnosed with diabetes or digestive, kidney, or urologic disorders, the handouts encourage readers to seek further information from the NIDDK or their health care provider.

The What I need to know about Bladder Control for Women booklet explains treatments and techniques for managing urinary incontinence and helps women prepare to speak with their doctors about the problem. Results from the NIH Diabetes Prevention Program found that women with pre-diabetes who lost 5 to 7 percent of their body weight were able to improve bladder control and stave off type 2 diabetes.

The NIH created the Plain Language Awards to promote the NIH Plain Language Initiative, established in response to a 1998 White House memorandum calling for all Federal Government writing to be in an easy-to-read format. The booklet and Awareness and Prevention Series publications can be downloaded or ordered through the NIDDK website at www.niddk.nih.gov.

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NIH Publication No. 08–4562
August 2008