Bone and Joint Decade

The Bone and Joint Decade is a unique initiative which brings together professional and patient organisations from different musculoskeletal disciplines, and government and industry in partnerships, which it facilitates on the national and international level. These partnerships enhance the ability of all organisations to fulfil their goals and help countries to launch programmes which improve the delivery of musculoskeletal health care and, ultimately, the quality of life (QOL) for people affected by these conditions.

The initiative was launched in January 2000 in Geneva, Switzerland, with a World Health Organisation (WHO) conference, “The Burden of Musculoskeletal Conditions at the Start of the New Millennium.” Assembled by Professor Lars Lidgren, Bone and Joint Decade Chairman, leading musculoskeletal epidemiologists and health science researchers from around the globe gathered to begin the process of determining the prevalence and severity of these conditions. Today, the Bone and Joint Decade has the support of more than 60 governments and 750 related organisations, each with their own strategies and actions. They involve:

1. Multidisciplinary efforts (e.g. rheumatology, orthopaedics, sports medicine, traumatology, physiotherapy, etc.)
2. Partnerships between patients and health-care professionals
3. Collaboration between government, non-governmental organisations and industry

For more information, please visit www.bjdonline.org