CFA Wins Gold
14 September 2011
The Continence Foundation of Australia has been named as the winner of the International Continence Society's (ICS) gold medal for promoting continence awareness. The international award recognised the CFA's Exercise and the Pelvic Floor program, launched during World Continence Week (June 20-26).
Exercise and the Pelvic Floor was the theme of multiple events held during the week in Adelaide and Sydney, and attracted wide coverage in the national media. The CFA partnered with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and the Jean Hailes Foundation of Women's Health to promote the program, which is estimated to have reached more than 1.4 million Australians.
The ICS said the award recognised the CFA's "educational and community outreach initiatives" and demonstrated collaboration across multiple sectors of the community and industry, including patient and professional organisations, and government agencies.
The Exercise and the Pelvic Floor theme supports the Pelvic Floor First campaign, a national social marketing campaign the foundation has been running since December 2009, developed in conjunction with the nation's peak physiotherapist and fitness organisations. Pelvic Floor First was launched to the fitness industry in April 2011, and to the general public during World Continence Week.
To maximise the campaign's reach, the CFA also shared the program's resources with the New Zealand Continence Association.
The ICS announced the winners of the World Continence Week Awards in August at the 41st ICS Annual Meeting in Glasgow. The gold medal was shared with the German Continence Society.
CFA chief executive Barry Cahill said the win was particularly pleasing given it was the first time the organisation had aligned with the ICS to celebrated World Continence Week.
"The Pelvic Floor First program was extremely successful and highlighted the extended reach a campaign can achieve by working with stakeholders to promote key messages to a targeted audience," Mr Cahill said.
"Not only were we able to educate men and women about the importance of appropriate exercise regimes with regard to pelvic floor dysfunction, but we were also able to educate exercise and health professionals, who will now pass on this vital information to their clients."
Mr Cahill said using an international platform to launch the program was another example of collaborating with other continence organisations to raise awareness on a global scale.
"It is important for peak health bodies to come together to share ideas and resources so we can continue to educate all sectors of the community about the importance of bladder and bowel health," he said.
"I hope other countries can benefit from our program and adapt it for their own purposes."
If you would like to find out more about the Pelvic Floor First campaign, please e-mail info@continence.org.au
