Senior-friendly osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment

What is it about?

Osteoporosis is under-treated and patients with, or at risk of, fractures are frequently not assessed, let alone treated when appropriate. The peer-led education and mentorship model we describe may have the potential to reduce the osteoporosis care gap and, importantly, be applicable to improving management of other chronic conditions.

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Why is it important?

Despite serious consequences, osteoporosis is largely underdiagnosed, with as few as 13%–25% of patients who experience a fragility fracture being investigated for osteoporosis by bone mineral density assessment, and those at high risk for fractures often remain untreated. Successful risk screening not only depends on educating physicians but on increasing public awareness of osteoporosis. Self-management approaches to prevention and management of health conditions have been lauded as effective ways to improve health outcomes in adults and to reduce health care costs. The use of knowledgeable and skilled senior volunteers trained to educate their peers on health-related topics, although not new, is gaining popularity and support as an effective method of health promotion. This paper reports results from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of a participatory community development approach that actively engaged seniors in providing peer-led osteoporosis education and mentoring within a naturally occurring retirement community in Ontario, Canada