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The Bone and Joint Decade Australia Activities 2004
The Bone and Joint Decade started 2004 with the publication of a supplement on Bone and Joint Disorders: Prevention and Control, in the March edition of the Medical Journal of Australia. The supplement was produced to raise the awareness of the burden of musculoskeletal disease on the community, with its primarily focus on the musculoskeletal diseases of osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and arthritis. Advances in treatments, management, diagnosis, and joint replacement surgery were highlighted with articles from both the medical community and the patient’s perspective. This supplement was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Merck, Sharpe & Dohme (Aust) Pty Ltd, the Department of Health and Aged Care, and The Australian Rheumatology Association.
In addition to this, the Bone and Joint Decade was involved with the publication of Evidence-based Management of Acute Musculoskeletal Pain: A Guide for Clinicians. It was coordinated by the University of Queensland, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, and approved by Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, Australian Osteopathic Association, Australian Physiotherapy Association, Australian Rheumatology Association, Chiropractic and Osteopathic College of Australasia, Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, Consumers’ Association of Australia and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
The guide is derived from an evidence-based review undertaken by the Australian Acute Musculoskeletal Pain Guidelines Group (2003). It is a summary of the findings of this review of the evidence on the diagnosis, prognosis and interventions for acute musculoskeletal pain. It incorporates the management of five key regions, acute low back pain, acute thoracic spinal pain, acute neck pain, acute shoulder pain and anterior knee pain. An overview of acute pain management and effective communication is provided in the form of Key Messages for practitioners and information sheets for patients. The full guide, Key Messages, and information sheets can all be found at www.nhmrc.gov.au.
The BJD continued to raise musculoskeletal awareness with a series of public awareness campaigns to promote the prevention of the growing burden of musculoskeletal disease in coincidence with World Trauma Day, on April 7th 2004. This was done in conjunction with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons(RACS) who released new guidelines on trauma, specifically that caused by incidents on the road, to coincide with World Trauma Day. BJD NAN Australia promoted these new guidelines and the importance of road safety through a series of nationwide press releases and media interviews. This year Australia enjoyed one of the lowest Easter Road Tolls ever recorded with only 12 deaths Nationwide, which is less than half of previous Easter Tolls over the last 5 years. Hopefully we can attribute this decline to the success of the BJD NAN and RACS’s public awareness campaigns.
Each of the State BJD groups has been actively working on the promotion of musculoskeletal health throughout the year. The New South Wales Group has successfully launched a BJD marketing committee, who have redesigned BJD promotional material to be utilised nationally for the marketing of all the BJD groups. The Victorian group is planning to implement a Bone and Joint Health Coordinator (clinical nurse / consultant) on a regional level, and are awaiting the results of a similar pilot study. The 21st of August saw BJD Queensland host its second annual Research Day. To complement World Health Day, held earlier in the year, BJD QLD chose "The Management of Trauma" for the topic of discussion for the day. The presentation of this topic was aimed at the medical, research, and general public communities with presentations from medical, allied health, emergency service, economic, and legal professionals. The day was deemed a success with around 70 attendees attracted to each of the four sessions and was proudly sponsored by Suncorp, The Motor Accident Insurance Commission, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Smith & Nephew Surgical Pty Ltd, Synthes Australia Pty Ltd, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, Pfizer Australia, and Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals. The 22nd of August saw BJD QLD co-host a Fun Run / Walk with the Noah’s Ark Toy Library, to encourage the community to actively participate in the improvement of their musculoskeletal health. Over 200 people attended the run, which raised the profile of the BJD and Musculoskeletal Health, and the proceeds were donated to the Toy Library Charity. The Western Australia group continues to successfully work towards promoting the BJD. Plans are well afoot to hold a public seminar in Perth during October 2005 - Community Safety Week in WA. The theme is to be based upon "Musculoskeletal sequelae of road traffic crashes" with speakers from the Whiplash Research Unit and the Department of Physiotherapy from the University of Queensland.
Finally, in the last week of September, the BJD Australia sent two representatives to the Annual BJD NAN International Meeting in Beijing, China. The BJD chairman, Professor Peter Brooks, and Australia’s BJD Ambassador Mr Ben Horgan participated in 3 days of lectures, discussions and workshops to not only showcase Australia’s activities, but to gain valuable insight into the impact of the Decade in reducing musculoskeletal burden around the world. The topics covered over the three days included:
- Education—Better education—Implementation of the NEW curriculum
- Musculoskeletal science—How do we increase priority and resources for research?
- Reaching out—Future Directions—How are we getting the message across?
- Road Safety—Where do we go from here?
In addition to these formal matters, topics such as the misconceptions and stereotypes associated with the term arthritis, and the actions required by the medical community to remedy these perceptions, were also discussed. There was a worldwide consensus that the term "arthritis" refers to an old person’s disease that is untreatable and unpreventable. Many countries have moved to reduce the effects of this generalisation through advanced awareness campaigns, and the use of catchy slogans such as "Strength in Motion", "Healthy Bones Healthy Life", "Move it or lose it", and "Joint Action" to highlight their musculoskeletal health strategies. The outcomes of the 2004 BJD NAN International Meeting can be found on the International BJD website.
To continue the outstanding work of raising awareness of musculoskeletal health in Australia, the BJD are planning to host a National Consensus Meeting in the New Year. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the BJD committee, and health professionals, to review the impact of the BJD on the community over the last half of the Decade. It will also be used as a forum to determine the direction and activities of the BJD over the next half of the Decade, so musculoskeletal health continues to be addressed in Australia. In addition to this, each of the states will host research days, lecture seminars, and provide information through the media to continue to meet the aims of the Decade. Finally, delegates from BJD Australia will once again attend the International BJD NAN Meeting, this time in Canada, to showcase Australia’s ongoing dedication to the Decade.
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