April is National Minority Health Month, so American Bone Health is taking the opportunity to highlight the disparities and differences in bone health awareness, osteoporosis treatment, and fracture prevention that affect some racial and ethnic minority groups. Also, American Bone Health is committed to bone health education on a community level, so we will be reaching out to diverse populations during April and beyond to try to close these health equity gaps.
Ama Lee is a Peer Educator for American Bone Health who is leading community conversations on the importance of bone health to African Americans. Based on Ama’s experience and input, American Bone Health is offering a series of Freedom from Fractures signature events specifically geared toward African Americans in 10 cities.
Ama said it’s important to understand cultural differences when educating minority populations on osteoporosis and the risk of broken bones.
“From the standpoint of African Americans, if you talk to people, they will say, ‘Oh, I have big bones, my bones are big and strong,’ and it’s really not a myth – African Americans do have greater bone mass. What they don’t factor in is the impact of lifestyle and medications and chronic diseases on the bones.”
A bone density test doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to fracture risk, Ama reminds people who attends the events she leads in the Washington, D.C., area.
“The conversation is not so much about osteoporosis – it’s more about understanding the quality of their bones.”
One of the goals of the new series of Freedom from Fractures events for African Americans is to gather data for American Bone Health’s Fracture Risk Calculator tool.
“When we do the risk assessment for African Americans, the chances of fractures are because of chronic diseases and medications that are prevalent in this population.”
Ama says people are surprised and motivated by what they learn at her bone health events.
“People are fascinated to know that the bones are living cells – not just a structure that deteriorates as you age. They get really excited about the possibility that they can make some changes, incorporating some things that they hadn’t factored in before, such as calcium. African Americans know about vitamin D, but many of them are not thinking about calcium. Because 75% of African Americans have to deal with lactose intolerance, it’s a challenge to get the adequate amounts of calcium. The importance of calcium is not something that’s promoted in the African American community.”
American Bone Health thanks Ama Lee for her work in engaging, educating and empowering people to build healthy bones for life.
Posted: 4/20/2020
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