The aim of this study was to examine women’s attitudes and health beliefs towards osteoporosis screening in a community pharmacy setting, utilizing the theoretical framework of Health Belief Model. A nonexperimental, cross-sectional research design, examining a convenience sample of women aged 18 and over, from several New York City senior care centers, a church, and a university campus in New York, was employed to assess the study objectives. Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale questionnaire was used to study the attitudes and health beliefs of participants towards bone mineral density screening in community pharmacy. From the study, it was observed that perceptions of severity and susceptibility towards osteoporosis and subjects’ demographic characteristics did not seem to significantly influence the decision to screen in a community pharmacy setting. The perceptions of benefits of community pharmacy-based osteoporosis screening and the perceived barriers were found to be of greater importance in women’s decisions to engage in osteoporosis-specific preventive behavior. 1. Introduction Osteoporosis is an asymptomatic skeletal disorder, referred to as the “silent disease.” As a result, people fail to realize having osteoporosis, until a sudden fall or strain causing the bones to fracture or vertebral structure to collapse. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), osteoporosis poses a major public threat to an estimated 44 million Americans or 55% of the people 50 years of age and older. Statistics reveal that 80% of the individuals suffering from osteoporosis are women. In American females, the incidence of a fracture is estimated to be 5.5 times greater than that of breast cancer, 4.4 times more prevalent than stroke, and twice the yearly incidence of heart attacks [1]. The direct care expenditures for osteoporotic fractures alone range from $12.2 to 17.9 billion each year, measured in 2002 US dollars [2]. The negative outcomes of the disease can be fractures, crippling, and even death. Furthermore, osteoporosis results in reduced quality of life, avoidance of social interaction due to low self-esteem, physical pain in activities of daily living, emotional suffering, anxiety regarding the fear of fracture, and depression about being dependent on others (Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Surgeon General’s Report [3]). Awareness regarding osteoporosis is increasing among women, owing to the increased media exposure and educational campaigns by the public and private healthcare organizations. Evidence, however, shows that increased awareness
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