NATIONAL OSTEOPOROSIS FOUNDATION WITH THE BONE COALITION ISSUES A NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR BONE HEALTH
Report Provides Specific Steps for Improving the Nation’s Bone Health and Preventing Osteoporosis
Washington, DC (January 22, 2009) — The National Coalition for Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases, (the Bone Coalition) comprised of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, The Paget Foundation and most recently the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, released today a National Action Plan for Bone Health: Recommendations from the Summit for a National Action Plan for Bone Health through the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF). The report provides an action plan and agenda to advance bone health promotion and disease prevention for the nation. It is a direct result of the Summit for a National Action Plan for Bone Health, which convened more than 150 stakeholders who share concern for America’s bone health in June 2008 in Washington, DC
The action plan is structured around four priority areas: developing a bone health alliance; promoting bone health and disease prevention; improving diagnosis and treatment; and enhancing research, surveillance and evaluation. The report outlines recommended actions, responsibilities, and short-term and long-term timelines for priorities and programs for health professionals, health systems and population-based approaches to promote bone health.
The Bone Coalition will take the lead in establishing working groups consisting of public and private organizations to focus on the four priority areas. A subsequent reporting phase will collect progress data, develop implementation reports, and discuss progress with working groups and key stakeholder groups.
The Bone Coalition issued this report as a follow up to the 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis. The Surgeon General called for public and private sector stakeholders to come together and develop a public health approach to improving our nation’s bone health and, until now, that call had not been heeded.
“The National Osteoporosis Foundation is proud to release this report, in conjunction with the Bone Coalition and take the next step in advancing osteoporosis and bone health on the national health agenda,” said Leo Schargorodski, executive director of NOF. “The 2004 Surgeon General’s report was the wake-up call we needed to understand the dire state of our nation’s bone health. With this action plan report, we are making good on a promise to the nation to promote bone health and prevent osteoporosis in a way that truly calls attention to this public health threat and answers the call for action from the Surgeon General.”
The June 2008 Summit for a National Action Plan for Bone Health was modeled on past Surgeon General workshops and served as the first phase of a long-term implementation and evaluation effort. A National Action Plan for Bone Health: Recommendations from the Summit for a National Action Plan for Bone Health compiles the ideas from the Summit into specific steps for improving the nation’s bone health.
A National Action Plan for Bone Health: Recommendations from the Summit for a National Action Plan for Bone Health is available for download at www.nof.org.
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Established in 1984, the National Osteoporosis Foundation is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization solely dedicated to osteoporosis and bone health. Our mission is to prevent osteoporosis, to promote lifelong bone health, to help improve the lives of those affected by osteoporosis and related fractures, and to find a cure. For more information on osteoporosis and bone health, contact NOF online at www.nof.org or by telephone (800) 223-9994.
According to NOF prevalence estimates and reinforced in Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General, osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older. In the United States today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the disease. Almost 34 million more people are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Of the 10 million Americans estimated to have osteoporosis, eight million are women and two million are men. One in two women and one in four men age 50 and older will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her or his lifetime.
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