Help New York Decide to Invest in Diabetes Education

Edited to add the video can be seen here if the NYC site is down, sadly this project didn't get to the next round. Still the idea and video are fantastic: http://vimeo.com/57393712

New York City is challenging, designers, and engineers to develop new products with potential.  Part of the process is a "Popular Choice Finalist" aka social media voting. Here is why this contest matters to people living with diabetes.

HbA1C looks like this: 

See the Video 

Here all this time we thought it looked like a number with a one place decimal like 7.6, 6.4 or 9.7. Often the number is accompanied by a look of disappointment from the person reading the lab sheet. So of course we thought it was a number that is all anyone ever said about it.

But look at the picture. It is a model of a hemoglobin protein. The red bits are the protein's HEME Groups, the part of the protein that move oxygen around the body. They give blood its red color. The spiky blue parts are glucose molecules attached to the hemoglobin. The more of them the higher the A1C. If the little blue bastard are sticking to every hemoglobin cell in our bodies, they are sticking to everything else too.

This model is one of a kind. Wouldn't it be kick ass if every educator had one of these so that patients could see, touch and and feel to understand that A1C in more than a arbitrary number?

We can help get these to educators by voting in New York City's Next Top Makers contest. The winner moves on to a round of professional advice and possible funding. I think better diabetes education tools is a fantastic idea. If you do too, vote. Vote early and often if you can figure out how.

Then, please, spread the word on you blog, Twitter feed, Facebook... where ever. Together we can help NYC think beyond commercial potential to public health value.

Voting is open to March 27 at 5:00pm EDT.

Help Duane Reade Give $100,000

One of my kids lives is NYC. Another is going to college there in the fall.  I have come to like Duane Reade stores from my visits to the City. Deane Reade is looking to make some charitable contributions in exchange for Facebook likes. I am OK with that. After liking them you can vote on how the funds get distributed. My friends at the ADA are one choice.

I am a big fan of the ADA. I am an ADA trained Safe at School advocate. I think ADA does great work all around. I have said before that Your Advocates Should Vary. I think ADA sure deserves a few clicks. Goto http://www.facebook.com/duanereade. Like Deane Reade and vote for our friends at the ADA.

(More info at: http://www.facebook.com/duanereade?v=app_177914495580579&rest=1)

#TwoBits - Scare Tactics, Altered Images and Diabetes Ads

Riva Greenburg has a wonderful piece  (first of two pieces) up on the Huffington Post about Agriculture and Health. I found fascinating the idea of linking farm policy and health. I thought the idea that incentives for health based agricultural goal vs demonizing was a fascinating way of approaching the issues. It’s kinda like the idea of positive emotional behavior as motivation vs scare tactics and shame to get individuals to deal with the diet health and relationship in their individual lives. 

Speaking of scare tactics, there is an ad running by NYC that shown an amputee than links diabetes, soda and amputations. In an interesting twist to the scary ad in question - it is photoshopped. Boston.com reports that photo is digitally altered and not of an amputee or even diabetic. The poll in the Boston.com piece is running in favor of the altered ad. Apparently photoshopping images to make models skinny on magazine covers is bad but faking amputations is OK. 


What is your view of digital manipulation to make a point? How about scare tactics - think they work? 

Sysy has a piece up on The Girls’d Guid to Diabetes about scare tactics and this ad. Riva also has some great words about the campaign in her back issues.