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180015 In the Trenches: Results of a Pilot Project to Implement an Increased Vitamin D Intake

Monday, October 27, 2008: 5:30 PM

Carole A. Baggerly, Director , GrassrootsHealth, Encinitas, CA
Cedric F. Garland, DrPH, FACE , Dept of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
William B. Grant, PhD , SUNARC, San Francisco, CA
Audio (mp3) recording Multimedia recording
The publication in June, 2007 of a randomized controlled trial that showed that intake of 1100 IU/day of vitamin D reduced the incidence cancer by 77% and the recommendation of the Canadian Cancer Society to take 1000 IU/day led to the formation of a ‘grassroots' effort to do a pilot project to define what it would take to increase vitamin D intake in the US population.

One: met with key researchers in the field, getting input on what needed to be done.

Two: got feedback from industry (expecting financial support): they recommended that there needed to be a ‘consensus' before any action.

Three: Consensus was developed and signed by 12 scientists.

Four: Getting the word out has included: exhibits and seminars (for professionals) and a new public health web site for the public (under development).

The purpose of this presentation is to share the experiences of the pilot so that a much larger scale project can be undertaken to implement a vitamin D public health promotion.

The public's questions: ‘how much (do I take)?' and ‘why don't I get enough?' Medical response has been either unaware and/or wary of potential risks (close to zero). Organizations ‘wait' for government policy. Businesses support community efforts, but not in-house intervention.

Conclusion: The public is ready. A clear and unambiguous ‘here's what you need to do to diagnose and treat vitamin D deficiency' needs to be presented to both the professionals and the institutions for their inclusion and acceptance.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the next three steps for a public health intervention that need to be taken based on the evidence available 2. Identify three key things about vitamin D that get the attention of the public, the medical groups, the institutions 3. Identify a starting point in their community.

Keywords: Primary Prevention, Cancer

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I did the actions and I wrote the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Vitamin D for Optimal Health and Disease Prevention
See more of: Community Health Planning and Policy Development