(taken from application): The guidelines for the Diabetes Research and Training Centers mandate a model demonstration unit (MDU) for the training of students and practitioners in diabetes care and for the support of diabetes research. The IU-DRTC has responded to this mandate by developing a multi-site MDU that addresses training and research in three diabetes patient populations: adults (with special emphasis on pregnant women with pre-existing and gestational diabetes), transitional age adolescents, and children. The primary goals of our multi-site MDU are to train health care professionals in state-of-the-art diabetes management and facilitate research that addresses barriers between what is thought to represent ideal diabetes care reflecting current scientific advances in the understanding of diabetes and what is routinely practiced. Even though there are distinct differences in patient populations served by the MDU, a unifying philosophy is involved in the demonstration of model diabetes care across all of these sites. Model care should: 1) be delivered by multi-disciplinary teams with an emphasis on interactive decision making, 2) incorporate algorithmic protocols that are based on state-of-the-art care standards, 3) be supported by new technologies when possible, and 4) be rigorously evaluated and revised as necessary. During the past cycle we have significantly expanded diabetes treatment programs in the MDU. As a result, trainees have exposure to all aspects of model diabetes care including state-of-the-art measures to improve glycemic control, formal weight management programs, and cardiovascular risk reduction programs. The programs afford trainees exposure to patients of all age groups (i.e., pediatrics, adolescents, adults and the elderly) and of varied ethnic and socioeconomic status. Furthermore, through exposure to the proposed Women?s Health Initiative MDU program, gender-specific aspects of providing care to females with diabetes will be modeled. Finally, an important expansion of our MDU are programs designed to provide training and education in model diabetes care to medical students, trainees, and primary care physicians who practice at sites distant from these state-of-the-art model programs. 2.The specific objectives of the IU-DRTC MDU are: 1.To establish state-of-the- art diabetes patient management programs for the demonstration of model care. 2.To train health professional students and practitioners in state-of-the-art management and education of persons with diabetes. 3.To serve as a resource to facilitate the conduct of biomedical, health care, educational, epidemiologic and psychosocial research in diabetes mellitus.
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