[rninformatics]

From NurseLinx - Telehealth/E-Health Newsletter
Oct 18,2006

NIDDK Debuts Newly Designed Website

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recently unveiled a new and improved website to offer researchers and people searching for health information more online information and resources in an easier-to-use format.

The website redesign features better navigation and more user-friendly functions. Users who visit www.niddk.nih.gov will now enjoy:
new “Scientific Areas” sections that enable researchers to find funding areas and opportunities in their field of interest with up-to-the-minute information about special NIDDK initiatives, upcoming conferences, research resources, and NIDDK staff contacts easier navigation for finding information about the kind of science the NIDDK funds and instructions necessary for completing the grant application process a stable health education section for the public with consumer-focused information about diabetes, endocrine and metabolic diseases, weight control, nutrition, digestive diseases, kidney and urologic diseases, and some blood diseases along with statistics, links to additional resources, Spanish translations, and access to NIDDK publications

Most of the website improvements occurred behind the scenes. “The new website now has a database-driven content management system, giving us much better tools to maintain it as a truly living document,” said Maren Laughlin, Ph.D., senior adviser for integrative metabolism at the NIDDK. “The new, improved site structure should allow website visitors to see more easily all that is available to them.” Laughlin served on the NIDDK 18-member content committee, one of two committees set up to rework the website’s extramural sections.

“Our website is truly the public face of the NIDDK,” said Acting NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. “It facilitates the conversation among biomedical researchers at our universities and small businesses, the American public, and the Institute. With this new website, we hope to invite greater participation and better serve our mission of improved health for the American people.”

Though already popular — a user survey of the health information section reported an 82 percent overall satisfaction rate for November 2005 through January 2006 — the NIDDK staff hope the new website will attract even more visitors.

The recent facelift is phase one of an overall three-part plan to revamp the entire NIDDK website. While the first phase focused on site architecture and updated content, phases two and three will put design and color to work to give the home page and other parts of the site a fresh look. Final improvements include the addition of multimedia content and more database tools, such as an automated event calendar and organizational chart to make finding staff contact information easier. Professional and NIDDK web staff also will have new, interactive, electronic tools to help update and maintain the website.

The NIDDK, a component of the NIH, conducts and supports research in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about NIDDK and its programs, see www.niddk.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit

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