Consuming recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D and participating in bone-strengthening physical activities during childhood and adolescence can help prevent osteoporosis. Both the Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis and the National Action Plan for Bone Health emphasized the importance of promoting bone-healthy behaviors during childhood and adolescence and integrating bone health information into other health promotion efforts. The Best Bones Forever! Three-Community Study enlisted community coalitions to (1) incorporate bone health information into community outreach and education activities and (2) implement BodyWorks, a nutrition and physical activity program for parents and daughters that was modified to include bone health content. Results indicated that the sites successfully exposed their communities to bone health information by integrating bone health messages into community outreach and education activities. Participants in the modified BodyWorks program showed significant improvements in most measures of bone health knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, behaviors, and intentions. These findings suggest that incorporating bone health messages into related health promotion efforts around healthful eating and physical activity was both feasible and effective.
Sustainability has long been considered an important component of program development, and varying approaches to sustainability exist. When tight budgets get even tighter—or are cut altogether—program sustainability can become a significant challenge. Creative thinking may be required by social marketers who wish to keep their programs running effectively. Best Bones Forever!, a campaign developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and its contractor Hager Sharp, confronted this exact problem. This article reviews key factors in ensuring sustainability and documents the process and methods OWH and Hager Sharp took to allow the campaign to live on.
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