Diabetes Website Caters To Asian Americans

BOSTON, MA - The Asian American Diabetes Initiative (AADI) at Joslin Diabetes Center has unveiled exciting additions to its web site, http://aadi.joslin.org, offering innovative, interactive and culturally relevant tools for Asian Americans who live with diabetes and their healthcare providers.

With the latest major enhancements to the web site, which now offers content in Japanese as well as English and Chinese, “we are building a national clearinghouse for information about diabetes and Asian Americans,” says William Hsu, M.D., director of Joslin’s Asian Clinic.

Dr. Hsu and Dr. George L. King, M.D., Joslin’s Chief Scientific Officer, are co-directors of AADI, which was established in 2000 and has dramatically elevated diabetes awareness and its management for the Asian-American population and their providers.

Asian Americans are twice as likely to develop the disease as Caucasian Americans. Physiological and cultural differences raise the need for specially tailored diabetes information and treatment—but these often have been missing.

The web site features:

• Joslinville, a welcoming visual interface for the site’s content

• Interactive nutritional guides offering a simple, fun way of tallying the amount of carbohydrates and other nutrients in dim sum and wok dishes—appealing health tools for anyone who enjoys Asian food!

• A body mass index (BMI) calculator designed for Asian Americans

• Downloadable educational materials that address the needs of Asian American people with diabetes, their families and their healthcare professionals

• An Ask the Experts feature

• A Celebrity Spotlight series, sharing interviews with individuals who have made a difference in Asian American health, the first being famed chef Ming Tsai

• A monthly raffle, offering tickets to the AADI’s popular annual “A Spoonful of Ginger” culinary event plus other prizes aimed at healthy living with diabetes.

The Asian American Diabetes Initiative (AADI) was established in 2000 by Joslin Diabetes Center in recognition of the need for medically and culturally relevant resources for Asian Americans, who are twice as likely to develop the disease as Caucasian Americans. AADI’s mission is to enhance the quality of life and health outcomes for Asian Americans living with diabetes through clinical care, outreach, education and research.

Joslin Diabetes Center is the world's preeminent diabetes research and clinical care organization. Founded in 1898 by Elliott P. Joslin, M.D., Joslin is an independent, nonprofit institution affiliated with Harvard Medical School.