Preventing, diagnosing and treating osteoporosis will be the subject of a conference this Thursday and Friday in Grand Rapids. The two-day event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel is sponsored by GVSU's Kirkhof School of Nursing.
The conference follows the recent release of a State of Michigan osteoporosis plan, based on recommendations by 70 experts in osteoporosis and public health. The Michigan Department of Public Health and the Michigan Public Health Institute released a report in early October containing a series of recommendations about what health care providers and the public health community can do to prevent, detect, and treat osteoporosis in Michigan.
Nationally, experts estimate that 300,000 women each year suffer fractures because of osteoporosis. It is estimated that more than 30 percent of post-menopausal women worldwide¿including 28 million Americans¿are affected by the disease.
Dorothy Nelson, Director of Scientific Affairs for the National Osteoporosis Foundation and a professor at both Michigan State and Wayne State universities, will be a keynote speaker. Nelson participated in the Michigan Osteoporosis Plan and will speak about it at the GVSU conference. Nelson has researched osteoporosis and bone densitometry for 15 years.
Michael Kleerekoper, professor of medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, and pathology at Wayne State University, will also serve as a keynote speaker. He has researched bone disorders for more than 20 years and is a member of the board of trustees for the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Nurses, physicians, radiologists, physical therapists, certified athletic trainers, chiropractors and other health professionals are registered for the conference.
This conference is designed for health professionals of diverse fields, says Karen Dunlap, who coordinates the Center for Continuing Nursing Education at GVSU. It will address new areas of research, such as genetic basis for bone health, promotion of bone health in youth, the development of osteoporosis in men, and ethnic variances in the development of the disease.
