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Mid-Year Updates

 

2019 MID-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

We’re halfway through the year and pleased to share our many accomplishments. We launched our Self-Directed Walk With Ease Book Giveaway with the Arthritis Foundation, developed a toolkit and resources for pharmacists and their patients, expanded our partnerships and more! Check out our mid-year highlights below.

 

Walk With Ease Guidebook Giveaway
In the beginning of the year, through a partnership with the Arthritis Foundation, the OAAA developed a pilot portal for Self-Directed Walk With Ease (WWE) program, a way for people to participate in physical activity in their own way. Interested walkers can visit the site to learn about WWE, complete a brief assessment and receive a free WWE guidebook. Registrants also receive a series of automated weekly emails with motivational and educational information to encourage completion of the 6 weeks of WWE. Thus far, we have achieved exciting success with over 1500 registrants and counting. As part of our worksite pilot activities, we are working with the Washington Health Department to provide portal access to health department employees statewide. Learn more about the WWE Self-Directed program and portal at www.walkwitharthritis.org.

New Tools for Pharmacists and Patients 

We recently developed a toolkit and CEU (continuing education unit) for pharmacists along with patient-friendly resources. The information conveyed in this toolkit and the self-study CEU course will give a pharmacist ideas and guidance on how to have a more active role in the detection, prevention, and treatment of OA. Check out our resources and share them with pharmacists and patients!

 

Osteoarthritis Action Alliance Updates

 

USA Today Feature: Arthritis is Prevalent in the Military

Our very own Celena Adams shares her story about her time in service
to America and how it affected her health and career. The military gave her a lot: a career, an education and a sense of duty. But it also gave her arthritis, a disease that inflames joint tissues and makes it hard to move muscles. Now, Celena is on staff with the OAAA, working to raise awareness about osteoarthritis. Read the full story here.

Conferences and Presentations

Other presentations made about implementing arthritis-appropriate evidence-based interventions included: 

  • Exhibited at the 40th Annual Minority Health Conference – Advocacy for Change – presented by the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Minority Student Caucus in our ongoing effort to learn about and address health disparities.
  • Exhibited at the Bioventus Sales Meeting and disseminated OA materials.
  • Roundtable Discussion on “Walk With Ease program and the OA Action Alliance” at the American Society on Aging’s Aging in America conference.
  • Presented a talk “Pain and Musculoskeletal Disease: Public Health Perspectives” at the Stakeholders Strategy Meeting on Chronic Pain: Strategies for symptom management, physical activity, and improved overall health of North Carolina, hosted by the NC Center for Health and Wellness at UNC-Asheville.
  • Presented “Older Women Moving in the Right Direction: How the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk With Ease Program Helps” at the National Council on Aging’s Age+Action conference.

 

Did you catch us in attendance at these conferences in addition to our presentations?

  • Osteoarthritis Research Society International  (OARSI)

 

StandUp2OA Facebook Group! 

We started our StandUp2OA Facebook group for adults with osteoarthritis, advocates and caregivers to seek support and learn more about OA. We have gained over 200 members. Check out the group page here.

New Partnerships

We are grateful for the new partnerships we developed this year. Check out our Monthly Member Spotlight e-newsletter to learn more. We’ve had several new members and partnerships this year and here we are featuring the NIAMS Coalition. In our efforts to raise awareness about the prevention and management of osteoarthritis, the OAAA recently joined the NIAMS (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Coalition. The NIAMS Coalition is an independent consortium of nearly 90 professional and voluntary organizations focused on patient advocacy, policy action, research, and education. As a member organization, OAAA joins NIAMS partners in raising awareness about research into the basic understanding, causes, incidence, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the bones, joints, muscles, and skin.

 

A National Public Health Agenda for OA- An Update for 2020

The 2010 National Public Health Agenda for OA or the OA Agenda, provided a blueprint of action for us and other organizations on local, state and national level.  We are currently developing the 2020 OA Agenda which will reflect progress to date and lead us on a path for the next 5-10 years. We are grateful to our partners at the Arthritis Foundation and CDC, along with our many stakeholders, for their involvement. If you would like to provide input to the 2020 OA Agenda Update contact us at oaaction@unc.edu.

Walk With Ease Expansion Grants

We launched a hub model in which OAAA interfaces with one organization in a region and that organization manages its local offices to deliver WWE.  We have created a two-year hub contract with Elder Services of Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts; and additional hub contracts with the NC Center for Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville and South Dakota State University, and the Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program–Southwest Regional Arthritis Center at Mercy Health System. Learn more about implementing WWE in your community and other evidence-based programs in our resource library.

Internal Updates

Welcome Aboard

We welcomed a new staff member this year, Sydney Winter! She is pursuing her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy (OT) here at the University of North Carolina. While she has a passion for helping people of all ages, she plans to focus her OT career on serving the senior population and is looking forward to working with the OAAA as a stepping stone to her future endeavors in the field. Read more about our new staff on our About Us page.

 
 

 

 

 

 

Monthly Member Spotlights

Each month we highlight the great work done by one of our 100 member organizations.

January: Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) 
February: Bioventus
March: America Walks
April: North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville (NCCHW)
May: American Academy of PAs (AAPA)
June: American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connect and Share

Eat lunch. Learn aboutOA.

On the third Wednesday of every month we hold our Lunch and Learn webinar series. Our experts this year covered topics from physical activity, evidence-based programs, health disparities and more! You can view all of our webinars on our YouTube channel.

 

 

 

 

 

Are you following us on social media?

We have expanded our social media networks this year to Instagram, Pinterest and a new online health support community, HealthUnlocked. Be sure to follow us and share our resources with your networks as well!

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Copyright © 2019 Osteoarthritis Action Alliance, All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: Any reference obtained from this newsletter to a specific research study, resource, service, product, or opinion is for informational purposes only and does not constitute or imply an endorsement by the OAAA. Privacy Policy
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The Osteoarthritis Action Alliance (OAAA) is supported, in part, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Thurston Arthritis Research Center (TARC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the lead agency. Contents are solely the responsibility of the OAAA or TARC. 

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