World Osteoporosis Day, 20th October

Osteoporosis, a condition of fragile bones, is underdiagnosed and undertreated. People at high risk of fractures remain unaware of this silent disease. The huge human and socioeconomic cost, and severe impact of fractures on a patient´s independence, is also underestimated.

World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) was first promoted by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) in 1996. Since then, it has grown into a global campaign. It aims to reach out to healthcare professionals, the media, policy makers, patients, and the public.

The theme of this year is the importance of Building Better Bones throughout life. The campaign focuses on good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle (reduction of alcohol intake and stopping smoking), prevention of falls and fractures. Additional themes deal with the importance of secondary fracture prevention and patient-doctor dialogue.

The IOF´s resources are intended for both patients (lay persons) and healthcare professionals and aim to share knowledge about risk factors, prevention, and management of osteoporosis. These are also suitable for classroom activities with your students:

• World Osteoporosis Day: Campaign Toolkit 2023 contains key information and facts about osteoporosis, the campaign´s goals and messages, a list of social media resources, a list of ideas on organizing local campaigns for the public and educational events for medical professionals and students.
• Osteoporosis and Fracture Risk Communication Tool is a guide for doctors on how to build conversations with their patients and help them understand their condition, lifestyle risks and benefits. It is available in several languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese.
• The platform Build Better Bones provides information about exercise, nutrition and home safety.
• The 10-question quiz Build Better Bones Health was created for people to see how much they know about the disease and its prevention.
• Real-life patient stories.
• Additional resources, such as posters, infographics, fact sheets, and brochures.