[Osteoporosis screening policy for menopausal women: risk and discipline]

The community-based osteoporosis screening program for menopausal women is an important service provided by community health nurses. This paper discusses how normalization technologies such as bone density screening help to discipline menopausal women conformed to normative behavior as to reduce bone loss risk. An analysis of osteoporosis screening policies found that mass surveillance technology perpetuates the knowledge of diseased menopausal body with osteoporosis. In addition, voluntary practices of self-surveillance represent the governmental strategy of disciplinary power by which menopausal women are monitored in the framework of neoliberalism emphasizing individual choice and freedom. Although unreliable, the Quantitative Ultrasound promoted by pharmaceutical companies has been participated eagerly by women in community osteoporosis screening activities. Self-surveillance measures further involve modifications in lifestyle (e.g., diet, exercise, daily activity, garments) to prevent bone loss and to lessen the risks of facing costly medical care bills. This paper suggests that health care professionals pay greater attention to menopausal women's opinions about their screening experiences and to the results of discussions on screening results. Better assessing screening policies should help facilitate a transformation in policy focus from self regulation to environmental modification.