■ MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS COST THE United States approximately S850 billion per year and are the most common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability. Joint efforts need to continue in order to reduce this public health burden. To address these issues, Drs. Rand Baird and Paul Dougherty met with Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and Toby King, Executive Director of the US Bone and Joint Decade, to discuss how the chiropractic profession may serve as a bridge between these two large multidisciplinary organizations to address the burden of musculoskeletal disease on public health in the United States. They discussed the possibility of the APHA endorsing the US Bone and Joint decade tenets and increasing awareness of musculoskeletal disease by having dedicated multidisciplinary sessions that address musculoskeletal diseases at the annual APHA meeting. "It is my hope that we will see this project be a success and that we will see the chiropractic profession rise to a greater level of participation in the public health arena," said Paul Dougherty, incoming chair of the Chiropractic Health Care (CHC) section. "It is my vision to see the CHC become the leader in addressing the public health crisis of musculoskeletal disorders." The Chiropractic Health Care Section of the APHA (APHA-CHC), founded in 1995, has maintained a critical role in public health issues such as wellness, health promotion and disease prevention in the context of chiropractic policies and practices. For more information about the CHC, visit http://www.apha.org/membergroups/ sections/aphasections/chc/.
