RALEIGH, N.C. — American Bone Health has partnered with the Suncoast Health Council in Florida to launch a new educational campaign to train case managers who serve clients living with HIV on how the disease and some of its treatments can affect bone health. The “Love Your Bones” HIV/AIDS Health Education Program & Toolkit Campaign, which launched in late 2021, is the first of its kind in the nation. The curriculum trains case managers with the bone health information their federally funded clients living with HIV need to know, such as enhancing awareness of the effects of HIV and its treatments on bones, promoting healthful diet and exercise, and reducing fracture risk factors.
People living with HIV experience bone loss at earlier ages than the general population. The reasons for this are still unclear, but researchers are studying various ways the disease might affect the bones. In addition, some medicines included in common HIV treatment regimens cause bone loss, particularly in the first year they are taken. People living with HIV also have other medical conditions and lifestyle factors that can contribute to bone loss and risk of broken bones.
“American Bone Health is committed to building partnerships to increase knowledge of bone health in underserved communities. Working with case managers to educate HIV clients about health-related services is a perfect example of this kind of grassroots collaboration,” said Cheryl Hostinak, Executive Director of American Bone Health. “People living with HIV have unique concerns related to bone health due to both the effects of the disease as well as side effects of some medicines they take to treat the disease. Our goal is to help people living with HIV understand their risk factors and take action to maintain their quality of life and overall health. We hope this partnership with Suncoast will serve as a model to promote bone health among people living with HIV in communities across the country.”
“Our case managers are thrilled to have the ‘Love Your Bones’ HIV/AIDS Health Education Program & Toolkit Campaign included as part of our ongoing HIV/AIDS Quality Management Program,” said Elizabeth Rugg, Executive Director of Suncoast Health Council. “The ‘Love Your Bones’ campaign has given us the opportunity to train case managers to use data and other information tools to educate HIV/AIDS clients about the effects of HIV and its treatments on bones, so they can work with their clinical team to promote strong bones and reduce their fracture risk factors, thus reducing the overall cost of care.”
About American Bone Health
American Bone Health is a national, community-based organization that teaches people how to build and keep strong and healthy bones for life with practical and up-to-date information and resources to inspire them to prevent bone loss, osteoporosis and fractures. Learn more at AmericanBoneHealth.org and @ambonehealth.
