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OA Action Alliance Inaugural Meeting Overview

On April 12th, 2011, over 50 leaders in the public health community converged in Washington, DC to address a matter of great importance, the increasing burden of osteoarthritis in the United States. The objective of this critical mass of leadership was to develop a roadmap for stakeholders to advance the recommendations outlined in A National Public Health Agenda for Osteoarthritis (OA Agenda) [PDF - 1.75MB]and ultimately reduce the individual and national toll of osteoarthritis. Together they launched the Osteoarthritis (OA) Action Alliance.

Participants in this historic event included organizational representatives engaged in a variety of disciplines, including research and public health practice in the areas of aging, minority health, chronic disease management and prevention, physical activity, injury prevention, weight management, and consumer services and came from the ranks of the federal government, academia, national patient advocacy organizations, professional medical associations, industry associations, premier medical institutions and community organizations.

Together, these organizations built a shared understanding of the burden of OA and issues surrounding prevention and control, rallied behind the National Call to Action to reduce the burden of OA and organized four action teams laying the foundation for the Alliance’s future efforts.

The focus of each action team corresponds with one of four intervention areas outlined in the OA Agenda. These areas include:

Self Management Education
Physical Activity
Injury Prevention
Weight Management

To hear what several participants of this historic meeting had to say about the burden of OA, how OA affects their constituencies and how they plan to work through the OA Action Alliance to reduce the burden of OA, visit the OA Action Alliance website to view the videos of featured participants. There you will also find footage of the morning panel discussion featuring Drs. Ursula Bauer and Wayne Giles of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Dr. Jack Klippel of the Arthritis Foundation.

OA is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 27 million adults. Together we are leveraging our collective reach, expertise and influence to promote real and positive change in a way that no one organization could achieve alone. There are many benefits [PDF - 217KB] of joining the OA Action Alliance. We need your voice and that of your organization to strengthen our efforts. Join the OA Action Alliance today.

Interested in learning more? For questions regarding the OA Action Alliance inaugural meeting or for more information about the Alliance, please contact us.