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| navigate: home: magazine: winter 2000: article | |
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Osteoporosis is theme of second Rural Women’s Health Initiative conference By Celena E. Kusch | |||||||||||
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Women represent 51 percent of the total U.S. population, 59 percent of the over-65 population and 71 percent of Americans older than age 85—the fastest growing demographic. According to the Office on Women’s Health, more than half of all women over age 65 suffer from osteoporosis. This condition afflicts more than 25 million Americans today and causes an increased susceptibility to bone fractures of all kinds, including hip fractures which often result in death. Nearly 100 health professionals gathered at Penn State in June to discuss the impact of osteoporosis on Pennsylvania’s rural communities. The Osteoporosis Across the Life Span conference was held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. It was the second in a series of continuing professional education programs addressing the health issues of women living in rural Pennsylvania sponsored by the Rural Women’s Health Initiative. The initiative is a collaborative outreach project of the College of Health and Human Development, the College of Medicine at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Penn State Geisinger Health System, Continuing Education and Cooperative Extension. The Rural Women’s Health Initiative is committed to improving the quality of health for women of all ages living in rural communities by enhancing the knowledge and skills of the professionals who care for them. The conference series, of which Osteoporosis Across the Life Span is a part, serves as the keystone for the initiative. Through networks created during the conferences, the initiative promotes and develops additional programming. Dr. Luanne Thorndyke, assistant professor of clinical medicine and assistant dean of continuing medical education in the College of Medicine, and Dr. Sara Parks, associate dean for outreach, Cooperative Extension and international programs in the College of Health and Human Development, took the lead in establishing the Rural Women’s Health Initiative, which continues to grow. Organizers presented their model for collaborative outreach during the national Best Practices in Outreach and Public Service conference held at Penn State in October. The osteoporosis conference served as an example of this multidisciplinary collaborative approach. At the conference, national leaders in health research and policy described the state of the art in diagnosis, management and treatment for osteoporosis. Leaders in medical research and public health Dr. Wanda K. Jones, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for women’s health, and Dr. Nelson B. Watts, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, presented keynote addresses. Other speakers offered perspectives from areas including sports medicine and pediatric medicine. Dr. Nancy I. Williams, assistant professor of kinesiology at Penn State, discussed the connection between athletics, exercise and osteoporosis. She said chronic calorie restriction decreases the athlete’s energy status and can result in a 24-year-old athlete with the bone density of a 55-year-old. “Physical activity is a positive stimulus for bone density, but overdoing it can have serious negative effects, ” she said. “We must work to de-emphasize the ideal body image and size and stress sufficient nutrition intake.” In his presentation “Eating Disorders: Impact on Bones,” Dr. Richard L. Levine, associate professor of pediatrics and medical director of Pediatric Ambulatory Services for the Penn State Geisinger Health System, raised significant concerns about the lasting impact and possible irreversibility of osteoporosis in young patients with eating disorders. “The average age of the onset of anorexia occurs during the key years for achieving peak bone density,” he explained. “Individuals cannot build peak calcium in bones except during the teen years, and patients with eating disorders need to understand the lifelong consequences of that fact.” Dr. Wanda K. Jones, deputy assistant secretary for women’s health, talks about personal accountability for the quality of health during the Penn State conference on Osteoporosis Across the Life Span. She directs the U.S. Public Health Service’s Office on Women’s Health and since 1994 has served as the associate director for women’s health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. Dr. Sara Gueldner, director of the Penn State School of Nursing, presents strategies for spreading the word about osteoporosis during the conference on Osteoporosis Across the Life Span. “Prevention is a more attainable goal than treatment and intervention. The greatest challenge is to spread the word that individuals can do something about it now.” Dr. Nelson B. Watts, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, discusses “Epidemic 2000: Osteoporosis Across the Life Span” during the Penn State conference on Osteoporosis Across the Life Span. The director of the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Program at the Emory Clinic, he also co-directs the Bone Densitometry Service and is involved in clinical trials to evaluate various treatments for osteoporosis. Patricia Conroy, women’s program coordinator for the Penn State Geisinger Health System, presents information about Penn State Geisinger’s osteoporosis campaign during the Penn State conference on Osteoporosis Across the Life Span. Using community pharmacists, public health information hotlines and outpatient education coordinated with primary care providers, the program measured and promoted quality of life for women in rural communities. Based on a study of working women with children, Dr. J. Lynne Brown, associate professor of food science at Penn State, offers ways to improve awareness and promote dietary changes to reduce the risk of osteoporosis during the Penn State conference on Osteoporosis Across the Life Span. By bringing together professionals from all facets of the issue, conference organizers said the conferences take a life-span approach to both treatment and prevention of key issues challenging women’s health. “There is really beginning to be a following for these programs,” said Rebecca Beatty, coordinator of continuing and distance education for the Penn State School of Nursing. “A number of physicians, nurse practitioners and other health care providers have been to both the osteoporosis conference and last year’s cardiovascular program. The Rural Women’s Health Initiative has developed a track record for delivering high-quality programming in this area.” Next spring, the conference theme will be menopause. The initiative is also developing a spring series of half-day conferences on the health of baby-boomer women. Other relevant topics, such as obesity, diabetes, child bearing and mental health, are being explored for future programming. To extend the conference messages to rural communities, Penn State Public Broadcasting will facilitate the creation of a consumer-focused educational package featuring conference speakers. These media packages will be distributed through Cooperative Extension offices and the Penn State Rural Nursing Center. In addition, the School of Nursing and Cooperative Extension are developing a statewide train-the-trainer program for teaching young women about the prevention of osteoporosis. Public lectures are also being offered as part of the initiative, including interviews by keynote speakers broadcast on Penn State Public Broadcasting’s “Take Note” series. In February 2000, the Rural Women’s Health Initiative will host a Statewide Leadership Forum for policy makers and health professionals. At the forum, participants will identify, establish and organize networks in rural Pennsylvania and develop an agenda to improve the quality of health and well-being, policy and legislation, delivery systems and technology and the psychosocial health of rural women throughout the Commonwealth. An outreach program of the Rural Women’s Health Initiative, the colleges of Medicine, Health and Human Development and Agricultural Sciences and the Penn State Geisinger Health System | ||||||||||
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