Free Reference: dLife.com, a Diabetes Resource

"I have the shu-gah," an obese middle aged woman told me one day at the public service desk. Following a somewhat convoluted and protracted reference interview which ultimately revealed my abject deficiency in colloquial medical terminology, I learned that in addition to my rural east Texas patron with the delightful Tyler twang and colorful vocabulary, some 23.6 million other American adults and children—roughly 80% of the population—also have 'the sugar,' or diabetes to you and me.

Since 1940, the American Diabetes Association has sounded the clarion call for information, research, and management of all things diabetic, and its website is excellent and widely heralded. An alternate site launched in 2004 that has gained both professional and patient credibility, considerable user traffic, and numerous web, health, and television awards is www.dLife.com. The site's explicit purpose is to provide practical management strategies and solutions deliverable in the context of daily rather than clinical life.The website is a constituent part of the dLife network which also consists of a successful television program, mobile app, direct mail campaign, professional programs, and a nascent healthcare services division.

The site features a conventional home page arrangement of a horizontal menu button ribbon across the top juxtaposed with a vertical left hand display of drop down topics and a free text search window. The remaining home page space is given to recent news, features, and previews of upcoming dLife TV programs. The nine menu buttons on the top banner provide information portals to diabetic recipes, healthy eating, dLife TV, the diabetes community, a diabetes forum, expert Q & A, blogabetes (postings from relevant blogs), a directory of diabetic supplies, and a "join dLife now" option. Particularly interesting is the dLife TV category which enables the user to access any dLife program televised sundays on CNBC. The programs are accessible by category (celebrities, history, managing blood sugars, etc.) with a total for the number of tv programs in each category listed, or by a keyword search.

The subject specific drop down topics broadly cover significant diabetes areas including blood sugar, complications, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, healthy eating, information, management, inspiration, and expert advice. Each discrete area offers the opportunity to drill into specific aubjects for detailed information prepared by recognized specialists and medical health professionals. As a result of the American Diabetes Association and recent contributions from www.dlife.com 'the sugar' is more manageable and better understood than ever.—Barry X. Miller, Austin PL, TX