Six sectors play particularly crucial roles in reaching, influencing, and sustaining physical activity among adults with arthritis.

Click below to learn how each sector can contribute to increasing physical activity for adults with arthritis.

Community and Public Health:

Includes national, state and local public health agencies; aging services; schools of public health; volunteer and non-profit organizations that work with communities and constituencies on arthritis and other issues of aging; faith-based institutions; and governmental and non-governmental organizations who could promote physical activity among their constituencies in a way that is safe and effective.

Health Care:

Includes licensed health care professionals working with or serving adults in a variety of settings as providers; public and private insurers; and health care administrators and managers.

Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design:

Includes national, state, and local organizations, agencies, boards and governing bodies that address transportation, development patterns, built environment, public spaces, public works, and community design and planning issues.

Park, Recreation, Fitness and Sport:

Includes public and private organizations invested in promoting, supporting, and providing recreation and fitness opportunities for children and adults.

Mass Media and Communication:

Includes organizations that develop health communications or engage in public and private marketing of messages on the importance of physical activity for adults and available evidence-based interventions.

Business and Industry:

Includes public and private employers, large and small, as well as worksite wellness programs, including those that provide access to fitness facilities and activities.

Using the Guide

To get the most out of this Guide, it is suggested that you start by reviewing the first two sections that contain information pertinent to all sectors:

• Background provides background information on the origin of the recommended environmental and policy strategies.
• Partnerships explores the process of identifying potential agencies and organizations for collaboration and working together toward mutual outcomes.

Then visit the section pertaining to your sector and discover:

Making the Case

Here you will find additional information on the specific benefits of physical activity among adults with arthritis pertinent to your sector. Such information can both reinforce your convictions and help you to persuade others of the value of your efforts.

What Can You Do?

Arthritis Foundation Chapters, states, sector partners, and communities vary in their needs and resources. This Guide takes those variations into account by providing a menu of strategies from which to choose. Here you will find that menu and some general tips for selecting among them and planning a successful approach.

Strategies and Tools

Here lies the heart of the guide: detail about each of the recommended strategies, along with rationale and helpful resources, tools and samples for implementing them. Much work is underway throughout the nation to increase physical activity among all adults, only some of which is targeted to adults with arthritis. The Guide recognizes and builds on these ongoing efforts by linking you to them—rather than duplicating them here. Thus, the Guide is interactive and flexible, allowing you to explore the work of others as you consider plans for your own.

Sharing the Stories

The field of physical activity policies and environmental strategies for adults with arthritis is relatively young. Much remains to be learned about what works best and for whom. To help make this a dynamic and evolving guide, you are invited to share your experiences about what you have done to increase physical activity among people with arthritis with others so that we may learn from one another and collectively make an even greater impact. Your input will be posted on this website.