IOF’s mission is to promote the maintenance of bone, muscle and joint health as a worldwide healthcare priority

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the only worldwide organization dedicated to the fight against osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. It is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization which brings together scientists, physicians, patient and medical societies as well as corporate partners. With a new individual membership option, IOF has extended its outreach to the general public and health professionals around the world.

The Foundation works with 225 member societies in 93 countries, territories or regions, to advance the understanding of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases as well as to promote awareness, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these diseases worldwide.

IOF works to promote bone, muscle and joint health by:

• Empowering people to take action for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of bone, muscle and joint disorders
• Campaigning for policy change to make bone, muscle and joint disorders a healthcare priority
• Assisting healthcare professionals to provide the best possible care to people with bone, muscle and joint disorders
• Promoting and engaging in musculoskeletal research to advance knowledge in the field
• Supporting national osteoporosis societies to maximize their effectiveness in promoting bone, muscle and joint health

 

Among its numerous programmes and activities, IOF mobilizes the global osteoporosis movement on World Osteoporosis Day every year and organizes Regional medical congresses including the IOF Regionals for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin American regions. It co-hosts the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases each year and organizes the IOF World Wide Conference of Osteoporosis Patient Societies every two years.

For information about osteoporosis, or the IOF, and osteoporosis societies around the world, visit www.iofbonehealth.org

Osteoporosis Canada, a registered charity, is the only national organisation serving people who have, or are at risk for, osteoporosis. The organisation works to educate, empower and support individuals and communities in the risk-reduction and treatment of osteoporosis.

Our mission is to improve the quality of life of Canadians by preventing osteoporotic fracture through:

• Educating Canadians about Osteoporosis
• Advocating for optimal Osteoporosis care
• Investing strategically in Osteoporosis research

Implementation of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) is a major short term objective for Osteoporosis Canada, as illustrated by our strategy Make the FIRST break the LAST with Fracture Liaison Services. Accordingly, Osteoporosis Canada recognises the importance of FLS as advocated by Osteoporosis NZ in their strategy BoneCare 2020.

The National Osteoporosis Society is the only UK-wide charity supporting the millions of people affected by osteoporosis in the UK, and the health professionals that care for them. We are committed to helping people with osteoporosis and fragility fractures live the lives they want to lead and are working with leading clinicians, healthcare professionals and researchers to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

The Charity has been the leading authority on the condition in the UK for nearly 30 years and, with the help of our Royal President Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, much has been done to raise public awareness (view our latest Annual Review 2013). We believe that everyone over 50 who breaks a bone should be assessed for osteoporosis and we are campaigning for better provision of Fracture Liaison Services as a proven, cost effective secondary fracture prevention model. This is very much aligned with Osteoporosis NZ’s FLS strategy and wider objectives identified in BoneCare 2020.

We are delighted to be recognised as a partner organisation and will continue to share knowledge and experience with Osteoporosis NZ.

The mission of the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN) mission is to promote globally the optimal multidisciplinary management of the patients with a fragility fracture, including secondary prevention. FFN is a fast growing organisation with global reach and a multidisciplinary membership. FFN will play a vital role in sharing of best practice worldwide and support efforts to prioritise fragility fracture care and prevention in healthcare policy.

FFN focuses on the 6 key themes below.  See the new FFN website for more details.

• Peri-operative care: Improving the peri-operative care of fragility fracture sufferers has, and will continue to be a major focus for FFN members and a theme of FFN Congresses. The two key components of peri-operative care are anaesthesiology and orthopaedic-geriatric co-care (otherwise known as orthogeriatrics).
• Surgical treatment: The primary challenge facing surgeons is how to obtain secure fixation of an implant to osteoporotic bone. Leading initiatives from the AO Foundation and Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care Foundation have identified and disseminated best practice.
• Rehabilitation: Returning hip fracture sufferers to their pre-fracture level of function and independence is a major challenge. In this regard, provision of effective rehabilitation is a vital component of any system of care for fragility fracture sufferers.
• Secondary prevention: Effective secondary prevention must urgently be established as a standard part of post-fracture care throughout the world. The International Osteoporosis Foundation Capture the Fracture Campaign and U.S. National Bone Health Alliance Fracture Prevention CENTRAL website provide extensive resources for those seeking to eliminate the secondary prevention care gap.
• Research and education: FFN Special Interest Groups are active in establishing a minimum dataset for hip fracture audit, developing evidence-based pathways for vertebral fracture patients and defining key questions in rehabilitation research.
• Changing healthcare policy: Driving policy change that will raise fragility fracture care up the healthcare agenda across the world is a major aim of the FFN. FFN Congresses and the FFN website provide a platform for sharing success in the policy arena.