Research Now launches diabetes panel

PLANO, Texas — Research Now announced the launch of its Diabetes Panel, a collection of 336,000 deeply-profiled panelists in the United States and Canada who have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity. Research Now's Healthcare Panels also include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospital executives and administrators.

"As the nature and treatment of health conditions is so complex, we wanted to enforce the need to get insights from a variety of healthcare professionals and caregivers that go beyond a standard doctor," stated Vincent DeRobertis, SVP global healthcare for Research Now. "Due to high client demand, our Diabetes Panel is the first in a series of condition-based panels that we will be rolling out over the next 12 months. Our goal for this series is to be able to approach each condition uniquely, and focus on holistic solutions that will provide a deeper knowledge base of the condition."

Of the original 2,000 respondents who were pre-screened, approximately three-quarters of both Americans and Canadians reported that they, or someone they know, have diabetes. Among the 75% of respondents in the United States, 17% reported having Type 1 (2.3%) or Type 2 (14.7%) diabetes, whereas only 8.8% of this surveyed audience in Canada reported having Type 1 (2.3%) or Type 2 (6.5%) diabetes.

In order to prevent diabetes, 69% of the surveyed audience in both the United States and Canada who did not report having diabetes said they watch their sugar intake and try to maintain a proper diet and workout regimen.

"What's most disturbing about this study is that, despite diabetes being one of the fastest growing diseases in America, both Americans and Canadians struggle with recognizing the symptoms," DeRobertis noted. Among the surveyed audience in the United States, 61% of respondents acknowledged they were aware of some of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. However, of this group, only 35% could accurately name a symptom. Among the same audience, 69% acknowledged they were aware of some of the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, but just 43% could accurately name a symptom.

Likewise, 57% of the surveyed Canadian audience acknowledged they were aware of some of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes, but only 32% could accurately name a symptom. And among the same audience, 63% acknowledged they were aware of some of the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, but just 38% could accurately name a symptom.

The survey went on to find that just 64% of U.S. respondents and 54% of Canadian respondents agree that their healthcare provider supplies adequate information about diabetes awareness and prevention.

"It is impactful stats like these that help to illustrate the lack of awareness when it comes to diabetes, and where healthcare providers should take more notice," DeRobertis said. "As we move into a new era of Obamacare and next-generation medical technologies, it is imperative that more resources be directed toward diabetes management tools and health programs to prevent diabetes."