JointHealth™ express May 19, 2011
Arthritis in the news
Eight in ten Internet users look online for health information (Pew Internet Project, Health Issues report, 2011). A recent article in the Calgary Herald, titled, "Rethinking how we treat arthritis" shows just how true that is.
According to the article, a Calgary man recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) did a Google search to find ways to treat the condition. What did he find? He found out about Dr. John Esdaile, a scientific director of the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada (ARC), and he learned that the ways to treat OA include losing weight and exercising appropriately.
The article explains that Dr. Esdaile is "harnessing the power of the Internet". How is he doing that? One of the many strategies is to go "viral" with a series of educational videos available at the ARC website geared toward the public that describe the latest scientific findings about arthritis.
With the growth of health apps for smartphones and the advent of social websites as important hubs for health advice, other methods being used to reach out to people with arthritis, the public, and healthcare professionals are:
ARC, which began operating in Vancouver, BC and has recently branched out to Calgary, Alberta, co-leads the Arthritis is cured! (if you want it) National Arthritis Awareness Program, with Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE).
Arthritis in the news
Eight in ten Internet users look online for health information (Pew Internet Project, Health Issues report, 2011). A recent article in the Calgary Herald, titled, "Rethinking how we treat arthritis" shows just how true that is.
According to the article, a Calgary man recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) did a Google search to find ways to treat the condition. What did he find? He found out about Dr. John Esdaile, a scientific director of the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada (ARC), and he learned that the ways to treat OA include losing weight and exercising appropriately.
The article explains that Dr. Esdaile is "harnessing the power of the Internet". How is he doing that? One of the many strategies is to go "viral" with a series of educational videos available at the ARC website geared toward the public that describe the latest scientific findings about arthritis.
With the growth of health apps for smartphones and the advent of social websites as important hubs for health advice, other methods being used to reach out to people with arthritis, the public, and healthcare professionals are:
- The creation of an arthritis app as part of ARC's participation in a National Arthritis Awareness Program.
- The development of Facebook pages: one for the Consumer Advisory Board of ARC and one for the Awareness Program
- The launching of Twitter feeds: one for ARC and one for the Awareness Program
ARC, which began operating in Vancouver, BC and has recently branched out to Calgary, Alberta, co-leads the Arthritis is cured! (if you want it) National Arthritis Awareness Program, with Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE).
Arthritis Consumer Experts
ACE thanks Arthritis Research Canada (ARC) for its scientific review of ACE and JointHealth™ information and education programs.