Reaching Communities Around Australia to Protect Bone Health

The program included a Mobile Bone Density Testing pilot, working with local GPs, that delivered mobile testing in 15 target sites across rural areas and resulted in nearly 2,000 tests being conducted in adults with risk factors. Up to 75% of consumers tested were identified with poor bone health.

A consumer awareness campaign was run concurrently in 31 regional communities across all States and the Northern Territory. The campaign focussed on the online self-assessment tool Know Your Bones (KYB) to help locals review risk factors for poor bone health.

CEO of Healthy Bones Australia, Greg Lyubomirsky said “this online tool can be accessed anywhere in Australia and on different devices making it an easy first step to review risk factors for osteoporosis. It provides an individual report which can then be discussed with a doctor if required.”

During Rural Health Month in November a new animation alerting adults about the Know Your Bones tool was promoted via Facebook to women in regional communities. Over 177,000 Australians have completed the online self-assessment.

Greg Lyubomirsky added “many factors can have an impact on bone health and we have expanded the information available in the ‘Resource Hub’ section of our website for consumers.”

In the lead up to World Osteoporosis Day 2024, Healthy Bones Australia released a new 10-year report at Parliament House in Canberra. The report details the prevalence and cost of osteoporosis and related fractures. Greg Lyubomirsky said “We understand directly from consumers, that no one wants to fracture. Fractures are costly, reduce quality of life, and in severe cases can be fatal.”

Professor Peter Wong, Medical Director of HBA is “urging GPs to identify at-risk patients, and to intervene as early as possible, to manage osteoporosis and prevent fractures.”

Currently over 193,000 fractures occur each year due to poor bone health and Healthy Bones Australia stresses many of these fractures could be prevented.