American Bone Health: Year-End Highlights

Tuesday, 22 December 2009 04:05

In 2009, American Bone Health implemented a number of new programs and services:

Osteoporosis Awareness Month Screening Campaign: To promote Osteoporosis Awareness Month in May, American Bone Health partnered with CBS Channel 5 to launch the Put a Brake on Fractures screening campaign. With corporate support, we ran more than 150 60-second vignettes to share information on a state-of-the-art way to screen for osteoporosis using the FORE Fracture Risk Calculator (TM). We got over 4,000 hits on the calculator as a result. This tool will help revolutionize osteoporosis screening. Calculate your fracture risk.

Huesos Fuertes Ahora: After six years of osteoporosis prevention and screening services in Contra Costa County, our research foundation, FORE joined forces with La Clínica de La Raza, the California Hispanic Osteoporosis Foundation, and Latino Consultants to implement ¡Huesos Fuertes Ahora! (Strong Bones Now!). Through ¡Huesos Fuertes Ahora!, we're developing and testing educational tools, methods, and delivery strategies that will effectively motivate Latinos to take appropriate osteoporosis  prevention and treatment steps.

Our years of screening older adults highlights the need for culturally appropriate programs tailored to Latinos. Even with almost two decades of experience conducting bone density screening among older adults, the results of this program surprised us. Last year, 702 Latinos age 50 and older were screened, and 60% had bone mass low enough for them to be considered at risk for fractures. Having this information is an important step toward eradicating the burgeoning bone health crisis among Latinos nationwide.

Bone Health Hotline: The AMERICAN BONE HEALTH HOTLINE is the realization of a dream to provide personal contact for individuals about osteoporosis and bone health. Our ultimate goal is to make the hotline available more hours a day to maximize its convenience. To help support the hotline, you can donate or volunteer for our Hotline Training Program.

If you or a family member has recently been diagnosed with osteoporosis; if you're having trouble interpreting the results of your bone density test; or even if you  have a question about your calcium requirements, you can call 1-888-843-9391 toll-free from 9:00 to 4:00 Pacific Standard Time.

BONESENSE: After years of publishing our semi-annual newsletter FOREFront, we made the transition this year to BONESENSE. Now we can easily and cost-effectively bring you timely information and research and helpful tips every month. If you happen to miss an issue, just check out our archive.  And don’t forget to tell your friends and family!