March 2005

ACTION ITEMS

Rock This Joint

Consumer participation will shape the development of arthritis standards of prevention, management and awareness for the Summit in Ottawa this November. Your input is needed now. read more | comments

Drug safety issues are political hot-buttons

News about COX-2 inhibitors disrupted treatment for many people with arthritis but the storm of suffering it caused may have a silver lining. read more | comments

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

CAPA raising arthritis issues on many fronts

Collaborating with over two dozen organizations, CAPA is making headlines nationally, provincially, and in government boardrooms read more | comments

COMMENT AND PERSPECTIVE

Global conference reinforces consumer advocacy

"Nothing about us without is", captured the spirit of the International Alliance of Patients' Organization first global congress in London, England this past February and set the tone for developing strategies for consumer involvement at all levels of health care decision-making. read more | comments

Parents who advocate for their JIA children:  The story of two families

Parents of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) see the health care needs in the arthritis community, the deterioration of the health system and the lack of research being funded for this chronic disease. Two families did something about it. read more | comments

Spot light shines on patient-physician communication

An innovative exercise in improving patient-physician communication at the Canadian Rheumatology Association annual meeting proved to be a most riveting and effective method of focussing attention on an important issue in contemporary health care. read more | comments

Tricky numbers - Cochrane says, “Beware”

Risks of medication side effects reported by the media can sound quite sensational. Knowing what the numbers mean is crucial when making decisions about your health and advocating for specific drugs to be made publicly available. read more | comments

Home Care in Canada:  Part 2

Home Care in Canada's two most western provinces looks quite similar: It's quality of life focused and it's bursting at the seams. read more | comments

Research projects don’t “just happen”

Defining the questions posed by arthritis and finding the answers are the start and end points of research projects. But how do the researchers, the projects and the funding come together? read more | comments

Inside the briefcase: Take a look

• The alphabet soup of advocacy

  With over one hundred different kinds of arthritis and so many people and organizations advocating on behalf of people with arthritis, we're resorted to acronyms. Have a look. read more | comments

• BC Pharmacare coalition fighting for access to medications and educating politicians

  Money allocated for drugs offers the best value in health care for patients. Why then does it make up only 7 percent of BC's total health care budget? read more | comments

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

Being “normal” with JIA:  How a young person copes

Mother's words jangled in my ears as I lay in the hospital bed, "Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis". I immediately burst into tears not because I understood what this meant, in fact just the opposite. All I knew it that it must be bad, very bad! read more | comments