Marketing and Promotion

DSMES Promotion Playbook

It’s Time to Change the Way We Talk About DSMES Services!

How would you describe diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services to a neighbor? Would they understand and want to learn more for themselves and their loved ones?

The DSMES Promotion Playbook can help CDC and its partners promote DSMES services with one voice. Consistent messaging can help create an identity for DSMES so that people with diabetes are more aware of it, reach out to learn more, and ask a health care provider for a referral.

The DSMES Promotion Playbook was developed through a collaborative effort of CDC and national partners, with insight from people with diabetes, diabetes care and education specialists, referring health care providers, state health departments, and accredited and recognized programs delivering DSMES services. Learn more about the DSMES Promotion Playbook in the Frequently Asked Questions. You can also contact AskDSMESPlaybook@cdc.gov to learn more.

DSMES Promotion Playbook Materials

Use With People With Diabetes

Support that helps you manage your diabetes poster

Support that helps you manage your diabetes. Find services near you.

Support that helps you manage your diabetes.

Support that helps you manage diabetes. Learn more today.

Use With Health Care Providers

Who Should Use the DSMES Promotion Playbook?

Accredited and recognized programs delivering DSMES services
Diabetes care and education specialists
Health care providers
State and local health departments
Community-based organizations

How the DSMES Promotion Playbook Describes DSMES Services

A key component of this work was the creation of a plain language description of DSMES services to help promote concise and consistent communication. This description can be used to communicate about DSMES services. It has been tailored for people with diabetes, health care providers, and partners.

Description for people with diabetes:

Whether you are new to having diabetes or have had it for years, when you receive diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services, you will:

Work with a diabetes care and education specialist to set and track goals.
Learn how to use knowledge, skills, and tools to build confidence and emotional strength to manage diabetes.
Practice how to fit diabetes care into all parts of your daily routine—like when and what you eat and how you solve problems.
Find ways to get support (in person and online) from your family, friends, community, and health care team.

Ask a health care provider or find a local program through the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists or the American Diabetes Association.

Description for health care providers and partners:

Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services help people with diabetes manage their diabetes in ways that fit their lifestyle. Participants will:

Work with a diabetes care and education specialist to set and track goals.
Learn how to use knowledge, skills, and tools to build confidence and emotional strength to manage diabetes.
Practice how to fit diabetes care into all parts of their daily routine—like when and what they eat and how they solve problems.
Find ways to get support (in person and online) from family, friends, the community, and their health care team.

People with diabetes can ask a health care provider or find a local program through the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists or the American Diabetes Association.

How to Use the DSMES Promotion Playbook Materials

Communicating clearly and consistently about DSMES services makes it easier for other organizations to amplify your outreach efforts. Customize the outreach materials in the DSMES Promotion Playbook with your local program information.

Here are a few tips:

A free PDF reader can be used to fill in the areas of the materials that allow edits. This includes changing the photos. If you need to add text in other areas, you may need to purchase software that allows you to edit or add to PDFs.
Each material has a recommended printing size (see Printer Guide below). However, all materials can be printed at different sizes by changing printer settings to the paper size you have. If original design files are needed for professional designer or printer services, please submit a request.

Printer Guide

Note: PDFs are not set up for full-bleed printing (printing to the edge of the paper).

Printer Guide
Flyer	Size: 8½ x 11 inches Color or black and white
Postcards	Size: 9 x 6 inches (2 cards per printout) Color or black and white
Poster	Size: 12 x 18 inches Color or black and white

Questions on how to customize and print the materials can be sent to AskDSMESPlaybook@cdc.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

This new resource is designed to help accredited and recognized programs delivering diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services and others promote DSMES services. The messages and materials included in the DSMES Promotion Playbook are designed to:

Communicate in a common and compelling voice.
Resonate with people with diabetes.
Help strengthen partnerships between referring health care providers and diabetes care and education specialists.
Support marketing efforts by accredited and recognized programs and others to increase recruitment to and enrollment in DSMES services.

In other words, they are the same DSMES services we know and love, but with a whole new way of talking about them so more people with diabetes can benefit.

Communicating clearly and consistently about DSMES services makes it easier for other organizations to amplify your outreach efforts. The DSMES Promotion Playbook offers customizable materials to integrate into your existing marketing efforts.

The DSMES Promotion Playbook includes:

Materials and graphics—both customizable and ready to use.
Sample messages to communicate with people with diabetes, health care providers, and partners.

The DSMES Promotion Playbook is meant to complement the work you are already doing to create outreach materials for your program. The templates can be customized to add your local program name and contact information, and you can add the photos to your existing materials.

DSMES services empower people with diabetes to navigate self-management decisions and activities. It is a cost-effective tool proven to help improve health behaviors and health outcomes. However, use of DSMES services is low. According to CDC’s Diabetes Report Card, only 1 million of the more than 37 million US adults with diabetes receive DSMES services each year.

The DSMES Promotion Playbook is designed to help accredited and recognized DSMES programs and others promote DSMES services with one voice. Doing this will help more people with diabetes participate in DSMES services and learn where to go for help, know how to take better care of themselves, and reduce how much treatment they need, including hospitalization.

Think about your favorite places to eat, shop, or travel. How did you hear about them? What made you want to choose them? Consistent messages and images can inspire people and motivate them to act.

Promotional materials can’t solve certain challenges that affect enrollment in DSMES services, such as cost, insurance coverage, physical access, or location. Improving recognition of and promoting dialogue about DSMES services may help programs and partners advocate for change.

The process of creating the DSMES Promotion Playbook could not have happened without insight from CDC’s national partners, people with diabetes, diabetes care and education specialists, referring health care providers, state health departments, and accredited and recognized programs delivering DSMES services.

CDC’s Partner Work Group included representatives from:

American Academy of Family Physicians
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
American Diabetes Association
Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists
Diabetes Stories from New York
DiabetesSisters

Throughout ongoing discussions, concept testing, and a national online survey of 500 people, one theme repeatedly rose to the top and resonated positively with test audiences: personalized services to manage your diabetes. To capture this theme, we used the insights we gathered from the development process to create materials that:

Emphasize the idea of personalized services and support (“for me”).
Use the color blue, traditionally associated with diabetes care and support.
Include a call to action and places to add local program contact information.

To learn how to integrate the DSMES Promotion Playbook into existing DSMES promotion efforts, please contact us AskDSMESPlaybook@cdc.gov.