How Will DC’s Shifting Demographics Affect Diabetes and Health Care Issues?

by Linda Topping Streitfeld 0 comments

Wednesday’s Washington Post reported that the Washington metro region was among eight in which minorities became a majority in the past decade, according to a new analysis of census data. The well-done piece, by Carol Morello and Ted Mellnik, touched on implications for the area’s workforce, schools and politics.

One area not mentioned was health-care, but this is on our minds here at NPF, because we know that the burden of diabetes is much higher for racial and ethnic minorities than for whites. As the minority population grows, so will the importance of understanding diabetes. It’s one of the issues we’ll talk about during our one-day program, Diabetes Issues Today, which is offered free to area journalists on September 27th.

Confirmed speakers include Sue Kirkman, Acting Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for the American Diabetes Association and Myrlene Staten, MD, the senior advisor for diabetes translational research for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH.

We’ll cover the basic biology of diabetes, populations affected, the scope of the epidemic, economic impacts, what it’s like to live with diabetes, the latest research advances and proposed legislation. An end-of-day panel will talk about the full range of possible solutions, including advantages and drawbacks of each.

The program is free. Get details and register here.

Hope to see you there!