Kathy Reichs, PhD, the forensic anthropologist who wrote a series of bestsellers and inspired the TV series Bones, urged nurses to join her in disseminating the messages of "Know My Bones," an educational program for women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO).

"Nurses can participate firsthand, face-to-face, in a grassroots way to get the message out to women about bone health," she told ADVANCE.

"As a forensic anthropologist, I'm looking at bones all the time, and they tell the story of a person's life," said Reichs. "Bones tell the person's age, the gender, and sometimes the activities they've been engaged in on a regular basis.  I learn a lot about their health in general and often about their health at the time of death."

Over the years, those experiences have strengthened Reichs' commitment to bone health.

"If I see the skeleton of an elderly woman with a number of fractures, either healed or - sadly - not healed, that tells a story," she said. "Those situations are what make me interested in the Know My Bones Council. I'm very actively involved in the kick-off campaign, and will go regularly myself to the Web site... You can sign up on the site and, if you choose, have regular messages sent to your e-mail box about diet, exercise, and questions to ask your doctor about bone health. It's under development now, and will be growing with additional resources."

Online Survey

The Know My Bones Council is a unique collaboration between the National Osteoporosis Foundation, Society for Women's Health Research, National Women's Resource Center, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, American Association of University Women and the American Business Women's Association.

The council's hope is to encourage women to learn effective strategies that will empower them to take charge of their bone health and reduce the risk for fracture and osteoporosis-related complications.

MEET THE MESSENGER: "Education about bone health and osteoporosis is important throughout the lifespan, from children to elders," notes Shari Silverstein, MS, RN, (right) co-coordinator and nurse educator with the New York State Osteoporosis Prevention and Education Program team at Helen Hayes Hospital, West Haverstraw, NY. (photo by George Mattei).

Earlier this year, the council released findings from an online Harris Interactive survey of women from across the U.S.

The results were clear: women with PMO express a desire and need to stay more active as they age and worry their disease may limit their independence and ability to continue working. In fact, one out of five osteoporotic women surveyed say they will have to retire later than planned (many blame the current economy), yet they're not doing everything they can to manage their osteoporosis.

However, women with PMO who have experienced a fracture are more likely to fear the impact of bone thinning and change their lifestyles to avoid repeat fractures. And while a history of fracture did increase motivation to improve bone health, educational messages also proved to be effective.

"In the course of the survey, we included educational messages, formatted as 'did you know' questions," said Susan Randall, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, senior director of education for the National Osteoporosis Foundation, Washington, DC. "We inserted those in the beginning and included questions later that were worded slightly differently.  When we compared responses, we showed these basic messages about bone health changed their perspective and awareness even in that brief time.

"That shows simple messaging can have an impact; the key is to keep people motivated and engaged in the messaging," Randall pointed out.  "That's why we partnered with Amgen to create a portal for bone health with links to our own organizations that have robust educational content."

Sharing the Message

Shari Silverstein, MS, RN, co-coordinator and nurse educator with the New York State Osteoporosis Prevention and Education program team at Helen Hayes Hospital, West Haverstraw, NY, and a faculty member at SUNY Rockland Community College, Suffern, NY, believes nurses can play a significant role in getting those messages across.

"Education about bone health and osteoporosis is important throughout the lifespan, from children to elders," she emphasized.  "Nurses in all specialties - from pediatrics to geriatrics - can play an important role in promoting strong bones for a lifetime."