Online Bone Health Improvement Project (BHIP)

Principal Investigator: Randall S. Stafford 
Funding Agency: Procter and Gamble
Duration: 10/1/2005 - 9/30/2009

Osteoporosis is increasingly recognized as underdiagnosed and often inadequately treated once diagnosed.  There are substantial gaps between what we know scientifically and what we do in practice to prevent and treat osteoporosis.  Women who have had a bone mineral density (BMD) test or fractures may not be adequately advised about guidelines for reducing fracture risk and need advice for making behavioral changes that will reduce their risk of fracture is the number one cause of death in the United States. The Online Bone Health Improvement Project (BHIP) will create an online intervention for improving bone health.  The website will provide individulized feedback on osteoporotic fracture risk reduction that will increase women’s adherence to guidelines for osteoporosis treatment and prevention by use of education and individualized recommendations based on the woman’s BMD test results and fracture risk score. 

What is the BHIP?

The BHIP is a pilot study of an online intervention to improve bone health in women.  We will recruit 120 women to join the study.  Participants will be randomized to an intervention group or control group. 


Procedures:

All participants will complete three sets of questionnaires.  Intevention participants will complete tutorials approximately 1 every 1.5 weeks for 6 months.  Tutorials will take approximately 45 minutes each.  The tutorials will be tailored to the participant.  Control group participants will continue their activities as usual and will view their tutorials after they complete a 6 month period.

Potential Benefits:

  • Better understanding of the results of your bone mineral density test.
  • Better understanding of the guidelines for reducing your risk of osteoporotic fracture.
  • Better understanding of how to use appropriate prevention and treatment strategies for osteoporosis and associated fractures.

 

How do I participate in the BHIP?

We have completed recruitment for the BHIP and are analyzing results. We hope to present results in early 2009.