NDDIC News

What Is NDDIC?

The man slowly approaches the NDDIC booth at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, scanning the exhibit, the staff, and the displayed publications. Mouthing the words "National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse," he raises his brows questioningly. He—like many people—did not know that the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) operates an information service about digestive diseases for the public and health professionals.

The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, or NDDIC, has been a resource for health professionals, patients, and the public for 20 years. People can call, write, e-mail, or fax NDDIC to order educational materials on various digestive diseases, or they can go to the Institute's web page for "immediate" materials. NDDIC has an inventory of more than 100 fact sheets and booklets on many digestive diseases and related topics. The materials are written at varying reading levels, including easy-to-read, to make the information useful to as many people as possible. Also, clearinghouse staff can refer people to appropriate digestive disease organizations that offer specific information or support services. NDDIC works closely with many such organizations to coordinate resources about digestive diseases.

NDDIC serves both health care professionals and patients. Over the years, increasing numbers of people have turned to the clearinghouse for health information. Last year, NDDIC received nearly 18,000 inquiries, up 4,000 from the year before. Most questions are answered with NDDIC publications. Last year, NDDIC distributed 490,000 fact sheets and booklets. With the use of the Internet for electronic dissemination, usage of clearinghouse publications has grown exponentially. Because these materials are not copyrighted and many companies reproduce the materials and disseminate them through other outlets, some of NDDIC's reach cannot even be measured. Health professionals tend to order bulk copies of NDDIC publications to give to their patients. Free single copies are available to anyone who requests them.

NDDIC publications cover more than 50 digestive problems and related topics, from routine gas, constipation, and diarrhea to the more complex celiac disease, gastroparesis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Last year, publications on ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and hepatitis A, B, and C were the most popular, but the hot topics vary from year to year. A publication order form lists NDDIC's materials, and all publications on the Internet.

NDDIC also collects items for the Combined Health Information Database (CHID), the Government's bibliographic database of health-related educational materials. Anyone can search this database for health information resources in various formats and languages. The digestive diseases subfile of CHID contains descriptions of books, videos, fact sheets, and journal articles related to digestive diseases. The clearinghouse adds about 600 items a year to the database; a description of some recent additions is on page 5. You can search the database at chid.nih.gov on the Internet.

NDDIC continually produces new publications and updates existing ones. Future issues of NDDIC News will feature announcements about new and updated materials. (See New NDDIC Publications)

You can contact NDDIC by phone, mail, e-mail, or fax:
NDDIC
2 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892–3570
Phone: 1–800–891–5389 or 301–654–3810
Fax: 301–907–8906
Email: nddic@info.niddk.nih.gov

NDDIC receives guidance and feedback about its services from its Coordinating Panel, which encompasses 17 professional and lay digestive disease organizations. The panel meets annually to review NDDIC's activities from the previous year and to plan future initiatives. Panel members provide insight into the needs of their organizations' constituents. The current NDDIC Coordinating Panel includes representatives from the

• American College of Gastroenterology
• American Gastroenterological Association
• American Liver Foundation
• American Pancreatic Association
• American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
• American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
• American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
• Celiac Sprue Association/USA, Inc.
• Center for Ulcer Research and Education
• Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Inc.
• Hepatitis Foundation International
• International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
• North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
• Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
• Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates
• United Ostomy Association
• Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society.

NIH Publication No. 00–4552
February 2000