An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: considerations for pharmacists delivering the National Diabetes Prevention Program

Abstract

Prediabetes is highly prevalent in the United States affecting over 88 million adults. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP), an intensive lifestyle program consisting of a 16-lesson curriculum focused on diet, exercise, and behavior modification, with the ultimate goal to reduce progression from prediabetes to diabetes. Despite tens of millions of adults potentially qualifying to participate in the program, the uptake of the NDPP has been exceedingly low. As a result, the CDC has focused its efforts on engaging with local health departments and community partners, including community pharmacies, across the United States to scale-up enrollment in the NDPP. In this commentary we discuss factors affecting implementation of the NDPP in community pharmacies and other settings where pharmacists practice, including training, space, personnel, recruitment and enrollment, retention, and sustainability.

Survey of CDC-recognized community pharmacies providing the National Diabetes Prevention Program and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on program delivery

“…A mixed-methods study of individuals with prediabetes conducted in England found that respondents found community pharmacies as an acceptable setting to receive diabetes prevention services and was preferred among those who regularly use a pharmacy and who had work and social commitments. 13 Importantly, CDC recognizes pharmacists as important partners to promote screening for prediabetes and diabetes, referring patients to NDPP, or delivering NDPP themselves, 14 yet the available evidence supporting the effectiveness of pharmacist-delivered NDPP is quite limited, with no evidence of program effectiveness reported in the community pharmacy setting. Overall, 34% of community pharmacies reported that more than half of their participants achieved at least 5% weight loss goal.…”