Power to Prevent - National Diabetes Education Program - National ...

Session Duration
Each session is designed to last about 90 to 20 minutes. Many of the sessions may be conducted
more comfortably (less hurriedly, with more time for discussion) as 20-minute sessions, if your
group can meet for this long. For example, allowing 20 minutes for Session will ensure enough
time for you to review materials and to have participants fll out the Pre–Session Questionnaire.
Also, you may add activities, extend a discussion, or schedule feld trips that will prolong a session.
All sessions should include at least a 5- to 0-minute stretch and activity break; 90-minute sessions
should also have a 0-minute restroom break.
Participants’ Materials
It is important that you read the Group Participants’ Guide in this manual thoroughly before
leading a session. You should also read the handouts that the participants will be given during the
sessions and the session lesson plans). As group leader, you need to know how to use the tracking
tools, and you need to understand the instructions that you will be giving to the participants
Program Preparation
Decide Whom You Want to Reach; Identify and Recruit Participants
Before beginning a program, ask yourself: Why am I organizing this program? Is the organization
for which I work trying to reach a particular community? Am I doing this as part of a family or
faith-based group? Find out as much as you can about the people whom you are trying to attract
to your program. To help identify the target audience for your program, talk with community
members and fnd out what they perceive as their health needs.
Remember the key goal of this program is to identify people at increased risk for diabetes to help
them learn behaviors that will help them lose weight and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. How can
you identify people at increased risk? You can start with the paper-and-pencil risk test in Appendix
A: the Diabetes Detection Initiative Risk Test (DDI Risk Test). Create a fyer or run a newspaper ad
using the DDI Risk test and inviting people with are at increased risk to come join your program.
The Power To Prevent program was developed with African Americans in mind but could be used
with any audience or a mixed ethnicity group.
As you decide which audience to target, consider issues such as formal education, occupation,
and how hard the audience may be to reach. For example, if your target audience is composed
of individuals with low education and reading levels, your organization must be prepared for low
literacy needs. If you choose a hard-to-reach population (e.g., the homeless), consider whether you
are able to provide the additional human resources that are often needed for follow-up or to deal
with social services concerns. You should weigh these factors when you select your target audience.
Remember that success depends not only on whom you want to reach, but also how well-equipped
you are to reach them. Outreach and advertising ideas for your program will also depend on whom
you are trying to attract. The approach will be different for younger or older adults or for a specifc
occupational segment (e.g., blue collar workers at a particular worksite, family units through a
church group, or working mothers through a community newsletter).
Making Health Communication Programs Work: A Planner’s Guide (available from http://cancer.
gov/pinkbook) is a handbook developed by the National Cancer Institute that presents key
NDEP Power to Prevent Program Leaders Guide 8