Final-year NTU students promote prevention through challenges, activities and reminders.

 

Fragility fractures for Singaporean women as a result of osteoporosis, a bone disease characterised by decreased bone strength, are among the highest in Asia. As such an osteoporosis risk reduction campaign called The Bone Bank was launched that encourages women between ages 42 and 58 to “invest” in their bone health before the disease develops.

The campaign run a group of final-year students from Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information promotes the consumption of adequate calcium, Vitamin D, and exercise through the use of engaging challenges, activities and bite-sized reminders on The Bone Bank’s website, as well as its Facebook and Whatsapp groups.

The campaign was developed after research revealed a lack of familiarity with adequate risk reduction measures such as Vitamin D. According to a pre-campaign survey of 270 respondents, most Singaporean women are familiar with osteoporosis but are only aware of adequate consumption of calcium as a risk reduction measure. Adequate exposure and consumption of Vitamin D, along with weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises, are equally important in reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Thus, the campaign condensed its core approach into a memorable tagline – “As Easy as CDE” – to better help women incorporate bone-building practices into their daily lives.

“With the regular messages that I receive on The Bone Bank’s Whatsapp group, it’s easy for me to remember to practice ‘CDE’. I get to learn more about how much calcium and Vitamin D I need to get daily, and I feel motivated to exercise knowing that I have friends on this journey with me,” expressed Ho Bee Peng, a 54-year-old office administrator.

Dr Donovan Tay, a consultant in endocrinology in the Department of General Medicine at Sengkang General Hospital, shared: “Osteoporosis increases the risk of fractures and is a very prevalent problem. However, we find that only about half of patients who are hospitalised for a fracture knew of this pre-existing osteoporosis and even less so were treated for it.”

Other osteoporosis facts – women tend to lose bone mass more easily than men, and specifically for women aged 42 to 58 years old, they can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the five to seven years after menopause. The loss of bone mass puts them at risk of hip fractures, which have a mortality rate of 20 percent to 27 percent within a year from fracture. The total immediate hospital cost of hip fractures is estimated to rise to S$112 million by 2050.

Currently, The Bone Bank has over 300 Whatsapp subscribers and Facebook followers to foster further discussion amongst women about osteoporosis and how to best reduce risk. The campaign’s social media activations and challenges aim to promote the ‘CDE’ approach, while on-ground activities include yoga classes in collaboration with Jal Yoga, a local yoga studio.

“This campaign is refreshing and seeks to reach out to a large group of vulnerable elderly patients in hope that they would be more aware of this disease and seek simple preventive measures to keep osteoporosis at bay,” said Dr Tay.

 

(** PHOTO CREDIT: Unsplash/Bruno Nascimento)