Walson Communications

Pick a day, week or month. Chances are there is an “Awareness Day,” “Awareness Week” or “Awareness Month” designated for them, respectively.

Each year, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) publish a National Health Observances calendar.

Listed on the calendar is everything from National Birth Defects Prevention Month to World Salt Awareness Week.

Although the site’s disclaimer reads that the ODPHP and DHHS do not endorse nor are they responsible for naming or approving these national health observances, the public is encouraged to observe these national health days as a way to:

• Educate the public about health risks
• Organize successful health promotion events and campaigns
• Get new ideas, information, and resources on health topics of interest

The history of Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

In 1993, Tom Hennessy, the founder of RESCIND, INC.  (Repeal Existing Stereotypes about Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases) designated May 12 as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND).

The date was chosen to memorialize the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the English army nurse who inspired the founding of the International Red Cross.  Nightingale contracted a paralyzing, CIND-like illness in her mid-thirties and spent the last 50 years of her life virtually bedridden.  Despite her illness, she managed to found the first ever School of Nursing.

Since its inception in 1997, the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) began leading the call for increased recognition of fibromyalgia each May 12, and has staged groundbreaking national and international events in honor of Awareness Day.

Today, National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day activities take place worldwide in an effort to increase awareness of this chronic pain illness. Awareness Day seeks to help patients and organizations educate the general public, healthcare professionals, government officials, and legislative bodies.

National fibromyalgia and chronic pain organizations, as well as local support groups around the country, host events in or around May 12 to create awareness and generate media interest in their cause.

Even if your organization or support group isn’t as big as the NFA or FCI, you can do many other things to commemorate National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day in your neighborhood and cities:

• Host a free lecture and invite a member of the medical community who treats fibromyalgia patients as your guest speaker;
• Organize a community walk around your neighborhood or mall;
• Petition your local government officials to proclaim May 12, 2010 as “National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day” in your city;
• Spread the viral word by joining a Cause or Fans page on Facebook and promoting Awareness Day to your own social networks;
• If you’re a medical professional, host an Open House in your office for your patients and community;
• Host a screening of fibromyalgia documentaries. We recommend “Living with Fibromyalgia” and “Show Me Where It Hurts.”