Health observances in October

It’s a nice autumn day. And with autum comes lots of health observances.

GLOBAL OBSERVANCES

8 Oct
World Sight Day
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and World Health Organization
www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_sight_day/en/index.html
“Vision 2020: The Right to Sight” 

10 Oct
World Mental Health Day
World Federation for Mental Health
www.wfmh.org/00WorldMentalHealthDay.htm 

16 Oct
World Food Day
U.S. National Committee for World Food Day
www.worldfooddayusa.org

20 Oct
World Osteoporosis Day
International Osteoporosis Foundation
www.iofbonehealth.org/about-iof/iof-programs/outreach-education/world-osteoporosis-day.html

22 Oct
International Stuttering Awareness Day
Stuttering Foundation of America
www.stutteringhelp.org/Default.aspx?tabid=771

MONTH-LONG OBSERVANCES IN THE US

Eye Injury Prevention Month
American Academy of Ophthalmology
www.aao.org/aaoesite/eyemd/injury.cfm

Health Literacy Month
www.healthliteracymonth.org/
www.nifl.gov/pipermail/healthliteracy/2009/003012.html

Halloween Safety Month
Prevent Blindness America
www.preventblindness.org/news/observe.html

Healthy Lung Month
American Lung Association
www.lungusa.org

Let’s Talk Month
Advocates for Youth
www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=887&Itemid=

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Board of Sponsors
www.nbcam.org

National Celiac Disease Awareness Month
Celiac Sprue Association
www.csaceliacs.org

National Chiropractic Month
American Chiropractic Association
www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1823

National Dental Hygiene Month
American Dental Hygienists’ Association
www.adha.org/ndhm/index.html

National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Office of Disability Employment Policy
U.S. Department of Labor
www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/ndeam2009poster.htm

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Project
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
dvam.vawnet.org

National Down Syndrome Awareness Month
National Down Syndrome Society
www.ndss.org

National Medical Librarians Month
Medical Library Association
www.mlanet.org/resources/nml-month/index.html

National Physical Therapy Month
American Physical Therapy Association
www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NPTM&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=155&ContentID=48893

National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
Spina Bifida Association
www.spinabifidaassociation.org/site/c.liKWL7PLLrF/b.5129429/k.660B/October_2008_October_Is_Spina_Bifida_Awareness_Month.htm

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month
First Candle/SIDS Alliance
www.firstcandle.org

Talk About Prescriptions Month
National Council on Patient Information and Education
www.talkaboutrx.org/rxmonth2009.jsp

WEEK and DAY-LONG OBSERVANCES

4 – 10 Oct
Fire Prevention Week
National Fire Protection Association
www.firepreventionweek.org

4 Oct
Sarcoidosis Awareness Day
National Sarcoidosis Society, Inc. and Affiliates
nationalsarcoidosisfriends.org.tripod.com

5 – 11 Oct
Get Smart About Antibiotics Week
Division of Bacterial Diseases
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/GetSmart/campaign-materials/week.html

5 – 11 Oct
Mental Illness Awareness Week
National Alliance on Mental Illness
www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=mental_illness_awareness_week

5 – 9 Oct
Drive Safely Work Week
Network of Employers for Traffic Safety
www.trafficsafety.org/drivesafelyworkweek/about-dsww.php

5 Oct
National Child Health Day
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
www.mchb.hrsa.gov/childhealthday/newsletter.htm

8 Oct
National Depression Screening Day ®
Screening for Mental Health, Inc.
www.mentalhealthscreening.org/events/ndsd/index.aspx

12 – 20 Oct
Bone and Joint Decade National Action Week
U.S. Bone and Joint Decade
www.usbjd.org/projects/NAW_op.cfm?CFID=289606&CFTOKEN=71775577

12 – 16 Oct
National School Lunch Week
School Nutrition Association
www.schoolnutrition.org/nslw

13 Oct
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day
Metastatic Breast Cancer Network
www.mbcnetwork.org/page.aspx?nm=mbc_awareness_day

14 Oct
Stop America’s Violence Everywhere Today
American Medical Association Alliance
www.amaalliance.org/site/epage/40329_625.htm

15 Oct
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
Latino Commission on AIDS
www.nlaad.org/

18 – 24 Oct
Hearing Aid Awareness Week
International Hearing Society
www.ihsinfo.org

19 – 25 Oct
National Drug-Free Work Week
Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace
U.S. Department of Labor
www.dol.gov/drugfreeworkweek

25 – 31 Oct
Respiratory Care Week
American Association for Respiratory Care
www.aarc.org/resources/rc_week/

28 Oct
Lung Health Day
American Association for Respiratory Care
www.aarc.org/headlines/lung_health_day/

31 Oct
Interstitial Cystitis Awareness Day
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
www.npwh.org