Bone Health Education, Management and Treatment Authors- D. Rodger, L. Ledger and A. Spencer- HSE and St. Michael's House

Issued on October 2 2019

Purpose: To facilitate an open discussion on the ‘shared experience’ of differing health and social care practitioners with an interest in bone health in ID population.

Rationale: There is a dearth of international best practice guidance on the education, assessment and treatment of low bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis in persons with an ID. The Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (IDS‐TILDA) highlighted reduced bone density, osteoporosis and falls related injuries as a health concern for persons with an intellectual disability ‐ incidence of osteoporosis and osteopenia are higher when compared to the general population (TILDA‐IDS 2011, 2014, 2017, TCD). To date there are no accredited assessment tools/guidance specific to this cohort.

Summary: Education: To share “Happy Bones” an Irish initiative advocating awareness and education of good bone health and falls prevention, with an emphasis on peer to peer education.

Assessment: To establish how best to measure BMD in this cohort.

Treatment: To support a cohesive approach to the management of low BMD if identified or suspected and how this can be addressed in a person centered way.

Collaboration: To identify a group of interested professionals to advance this further.

 Presented : IASSIDD Conference Glasgow 2019