Global Perspectives on the Care Gap in Fragility Fracture Management
➢ Fragility fracture care remains suboptimal worldwide despite strong evidence supporting timely surgery, orthogeriatric care, early mobilization, unrestricted weight-bearing, and secondary fracture prevention.➢ International quality standards and registry-based audits have translated this evidence into measurable indicators that improve care in many high-income health-care systems.➢ Implementation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited primarily by health-system constraints, including workforce shortages, delayed presentation, limited infrastructure, and fragmented care pathways, rather than by lack of evidence.➢ Emerging initiatives demonstrate that evidence-based quality standards can be successfully adapted to local contexts while preserving their core clinical principles.➢ Orthopaedic surgeons have a central role in leading multidisciplinary care, promoting secondary fracture prevention, and driving quality improvement across the entire fragility fracture pathway.➢ Future progress depends on strengthening health systems, embedding auditing and certification programs, and implementing context-sensitive quality standards that bridge the gap between evidence and routine.
Authors
- Elizabeth Armstrong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5980-9697)
- Matthew Lee Costa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3644-1388)
- Irewin Tabu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5952-128X)
- Frede Frihagen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4811-669X)
- Joon Kiong Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4215-1689)
- Takeshi Sawaguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3056-6983)
- Jay S. Magaziner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9221-5425)
Institutions
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Fukushima Medical University (JP)
- University of Oslo (NO)
- Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (GB)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Østfold Hospital Trust (NO)
- University of the Philippines Manila (PH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
- Published
- 2026-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2106/jbjs.26.00940
- Primary Topic
- Hip and Femur Fractures
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00