Feature
Twelve Months of Health Care Awareness
Beyond National Physical Therapy Month in October, how many months, weeks, and days do you know that have been designated to highlight conditions that PTs and PTAs manage? There probably are more than you think!
By APTA Staff | May 2020
Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants treat a wide range of patients and clients — young and old, male and female, those with disabilities (born or acquired) and those without — for a wide range of conditions.
National Physical Therapy Month, marked every October, recognizes the contributions that PTs and PTAs make to their patients and clients and to society. There are, however, dozens of days, weeks, and months designed to raise awareness of health or movement conditions and situations — ranging from brain injury and cancer to women's health and family caregivers. Some of these programs are created and promoted by government agencies. Others originated from associations and organizations representing specific populations. Often, multiple groups jointly promote them.
APTA is a member of coalitions representing many of the conditions addressed in the calendar. These coalitions also are noted in the calendar. For more information about APTA's coalition involvement, go to apta.org/coalitions.
We've created a calendar denoting a sampling of these awareness programs. It lists contact information — an organization or agency actively involved in the program and a website — if you want more information. This by no means is a comprehensive list, but it illustrates the types of conditions that PTs and PTAs manage. Most of these programs, similar to National Physical Therapy Month, offer information about the health condition, populations affected, and ways to get involved.
You'll also see links to APTA resources that are available for some conditions. For complete information on those conditions, begin with a search of the specific condition on APTA's websites — both apta.org and our consumer-facing site, ChoosePT.com.
Note: APTA will unveil a new website later this year. While it will greatly enhance your experience, some of the APTA links provided in this article may not work on the new site. In that case, enter the search term or description into the search box to find the updated links.
APTA's National Physical Therapy Month webpage provides an extensive list of activities in which PTs and PTAs can engage. Many PTs and PTAs can support their patients and clients whose conditions or situations are addressed by the awareness days, weeks, and months listed here. For example, APTA advises:
- Share resources from APTA's official consumer information website, ChoosePT.com, which will be visited by more than 4 million Americans this year. The site includes the Find a PT directory, symptoms and conditions guides, health tips, podcasts, and more.
- Explain to the public, payers, and other health care professionals the role in collaborative care played by physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.
- Participate in PT Day of Service and other community events.
PTs and PTAs may choose to inform the public about the services they can provide, using resources from both APTA and the organizations promoting the awareness programs. Because the calendar presented here is representative only of the conditions addressed by PTs and PTAs, it just scratches the surface of these types of programs and events.
January
Alzheimer recognition months. Alzheimer's Awareness Month
See June and September for more
Canada
February
American Heart Month
American Heart Association | heart.org
United States of America
March
Brain Injury Awareness Month
Brain Injury Association of America | biausa.org
United States of America
National Nutrition Month
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | eatrightpro.org
- Nutrition and Physical Therapy: apta.org/PatientCare/Nutrition/
- PT in Motion: Nutrition: A Portion of PTs' Menu of Services (September 2017)
- E-learning course: Nutritional Screening and Intervention for the Home Health Therapist: learningcenter.apta.org
- APTA collaborates with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on areas related to health promotion, prevention, and nutrition education: eatrightpro.org/
United States of America
National Sleep Awareness Week
Dates are set each year
- PT in Motion: Promoting Sleep: Not a Leap (October 2018)
- PTJ: Sleep Health Promotion: Practical Information for Physical Therapists (August 2017)
United States of America
April
National Autism Awareness Month
United States of America
National Minority Health Month
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health | minorityhealth.hhs.gov
United States of America
National Public Health Week
American Public Health Association | nphw.org
First Full Week
- PT in Motion: Community Health Promotion: Reaching Beyond the Clinic (May 2018)
- PT in Motion: Addressing the Social Determinants of Health (July 2019)
- PT in Motion: The Role of PTAs in Health, Wellness, and Fitness (April 2013)
- PT in Motion: Healthy Growth in Wellness Services (May 2020)
- APTA is a member of the Friends of the Health Resources and Services Administration: friendsofhrsa.org/
United States of America
World Health Day
World Health Organization | who.int
February 7
Global
May
Arthritis Awareness Month
Centers for Disease Control And Prevention | cdc.gov
United States of America
National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month
National Osteoporosis Foundation | nof.org
United States of America
American Stroke Month
American Stroke Association | stroke.org
United States of America
National Women's Health Week
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health | whr.org
Begins on Mother's Day
United States of America
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
International Committee of the Red Cross | media.ifrc.org
May 8
Global
Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases
CFIDS Association of America | may12th.org
May 12
Global
June
Men's Health Month
United States of America
Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month
Alzheimer's Association | alz.org
- (See January listing for Alzheimer Disease Awareness Month.)
United States of America
National Cancer Survivors Day
National Cancer Survivors Day | ncsd.org
First Sunday
Global
Family Health and Fitness Day
National Recreation and Park Association | nrpa.org
Second Saturday
- Council on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Wellness: apta.org/PHPW/
- PT in Motion: Healthy Growth in Wellness Services (May 2020)
- APTA Policies on Health, Wellness, and Fitness: apta.org/PreventionWellness/Policies/
- Prevention, Wellness, and Disease Management: apta.org/PreventionWellness/
- PTJ: A Model to Integrate Health Promotion and Wellness in Physical Therapist Practice: Development and Validation (August 2017)
- APTA is represented on the board of directors of the National Physical Activity Plan: physicalactivityplan.org/
United States of America
July
Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
United States of America
August
National Immunization Awareness Month
National Public Health Information Coalition | nphic.org
United States of America
September
Pain Awareness Month
American Chronic Pain Association | theacpa.org
United States of America
World Alzheimer's Month
Alzheimer's Disease International | worldalzmonth.org
- (See January listing for Alzheimer Disease Awareness Month.)
- PT in Motion: Improving the Lives of People With Dementia (March 2018)
Global
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Action Month
Global
World Physical Therapy Day
World Confederation of Physical Therapy | wcpt.org/
September 8
Global
October
National Physical Therapy Month
American Physical Therapy Association | apta.org
United States of America
National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
United States of America
World Osteoporosis Day
October 20
- (See resources for National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month in May.)
Global
November
National Family Caregivers Month
United States of America
American/National Diabetes Month
American Diabetes Association | diabetes.org
United States of America
National Home Care and Hospice Month
National Association for Home Care and Hospice | nahc.org
United States of America
Great American Smokeout
American Cancer Society | cancer.org
Third Thursday
United States of America
December
World AIDS Day
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | hiv.gov
December 1
Global
International Day of Persons With Disabilities
United Nations | un.org
December 3
- PT in Motion: Actors With Disabilities and the PTs Who Treat Them (March 2020)
- PT in Motion: Battling Bias's Distorted Image (October 2019)
- PT in Motion: The Competitive Edge of Adaptive Sports (June 2019)
- PT in Motion: The Journey of PTs With Disabilities: Challenges and Contribution (March 2019)
Global