Newsletter – March 2023

Support in a world with COVID-19

Spring is around the corner and with it renewed energy to address the exclusion many people with inflammatory arthritis face in living in a world with COVID-19.

We wrote to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to relay concerns about people with inflammatory arthritis accessing COVID-19 vaccine boosters. We also developed a new resource to show current COVID-19 booster policies by province. We will keep updating this new resource as more information becomes available.

What have we been up to?

Celebrating women with chronic illness! Earlier this month we celebrated International Women’s Day and someone in our community was highlighted in this article by Global Healthy Living Foundation / Creaky Joints. The article highlights the impact of living with chronic illness for women. Read the article and learn more from the 30 patient advocates!

New resources about pregnancy care and disability now available! We worked with researchers at the University of Toronto to develop resources for health care providers, parents, and health care providers about disability and pregnancy. Learn more by reading the resources available on the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health website!

Make Rheum for Youth survey

To close off Childhood Arthritis Month, we are proud to share an infographic with initial results from our Make Rheum for Youth survey – a collaborative project with Take a Pain Check Foundation. We are very thankful for the young people with rheumatic diseases in Canada and around the world that completed the survey. We will be working with youth and young adults with rheumatic diseases to continue analyzing the survey results and will continue to report back to you on what’s next!

Get Involved!

Arthritis Society is calling for reviewers and panelists – Consumer research reviewers and online consumer panelists are an important part of the work of Arthritis Society Canada to ensure the voices of people living with arthritis are represented in their work. They are actively recruiting for:

research reviewers to review research grant applications, and
online consumer panels who will provide feedback to develop educational resources and activities.

To get involved as a reserach reviewer, please complete the self-nomination form. To apply for the online consumer panel, you can complete the recruitment survey here. Learn more about both opportunities by visiting our website.

Stay Informed

Updated osteoarthritis resources now available! Do you live with osteoartritis? Look no further than these updated resources about osteoarthritis diagnosis, treatment and self-management which is available in English and French.

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