International Osteoporosis Foundation
Encyclopedia
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), headquartered in Nyon
Nyon
Nyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, is a non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 founded in 1998. It was formed from the merger of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis, founded in 1987, and the International Federation of Societies on Skeletal Diseases. The foundation functions as a global alliance of individuals and organizations concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...

 and metabolic bone disease
Bone disease
-Terminology:A bone disease is also called an "osteopathy", but because the term osteopathy is often used to a health-care approach, use of the term can cause some confusion.-Bone and cartilage disorders:...

. The goal of the foundation is to increase the early detection of osteoporosis, as well as to improve the treatment of the condition through international collaboration among national healthcare systems and governments.

Members of IOF are divided into a committee of National Societies, a Committee of Scientific Advisors, and a Committee of Corporate Advisors. Current president of IOF is Professor John Kanis.

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan is patron of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Publications

IOF publishes the public health journal Osteoporosis International
Osteoporosis International
Osteoporosis International is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal was launched in 1990. It is an official journal of the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the National Osteoporosis Foundation...

 and Archives of Osteoporosis
Archives of Osteoporosis
Archives of Osteoporosis is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. It was established in 2006 and is an official journal of the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the United States' National Osteoporosis Foundation...

 (in conjunction with the National Osteoporosis Foundation); Calcified Tissue International
Calcified Tissue International
Calcified Tissue International is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Springer Science+Business Media and first launched in 1967. From 1967 to 1978, the journal was published under the name Calcified Tissue Research. It is an official journal of the International Osteoporosis Foundation...

; and Progress in Osteoporosis
Progress in Osteoporosis
Progress in Osteoporosis is a medical journal published online by International Osteoporosis Foundation. Launched in 2000, the journal was published by Springer Science+Business Media until 2008....

.

World Osteoporosis Day

International Osteoporosis Foundation organises the annual World Osteoporosis Day
World Osteoporosis Day
World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on 20 October, and launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease...

, observed internationally on 20 October. The day is dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.

OsteoLink

OsteoLink is an online and in-person social networking site launched in 2011, specifically for people with osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...

, as well as their friends, families and healthcare professionals. OsteoLink is an initiative of the IOF and the Division of Bone Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...

. It is funded by grants from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 and the Swiss Confederation through the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme on research, Amgen
Amgen
Amgen Inc. is an international biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Located in the Conejo Valley, Amgen is the world's largest independent biotech firm. The company employs approximately 17,000 staff members. Its products include Epogen, Aranesp, Enbrel, Kineret,...

 (Europe) GmbH in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...

 (GSK), and other partners.

OsteoLink functions at a global and country level, managed by local osteoporosis patient support societies.
OsteoLink was created to improve communication between people with osteoporosis (a disease which affects 1 in 3 post‐menopausal women and 1 in 5 men worldwide) and their health professionals, following a report which indicated physicians underestimate the emotional and physical impact of the disease.

The report, titled ‘The gaps between patient and physician understanding of the emotional and physical impact of osteoporosis’ found physicians underestimate how many patients worry about breaking a bone, as well as patient concerns about a decline in activity levels and loss of independence.

OsteoLink was trialled with a pilot programme in 2010, and officially launched in Austria and Sweden in March, 2011.

History

The International Osteoporosis Foundation was established in 1998 with the merger of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (EFFO) and the International Federation of Societies on Skeletal Diseases (IFSSD). In 2008 IOF was granted Roster Consultative Status
Consultative Status
Consultative Status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council." Also some international organizations could...

 with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...

.

The IOF World Congress on Osteoporosis is organized by the IOF secretariat and held every two years, in even numbered years. The first was held in 2000 at Chicago, Illinois. The 2008 congress was cancelled because of political unrest in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the world's largest conference devoted solely to the topic of osteoporosis. The Pierre Delmas Prize, named after the late president of the IOF, is presented at the conference.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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