Arthritis patients urged to "bone up" on the internet as new millennium dawns
PEOPLE with arthritis are being encouraged to "bone up" on the Internet in the first week of the Millennium.
As part of its Arthritis Education Week (January 5- 12) medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign is urging arthritis sufferers to keep themselves up to date on all the latest information on their condition - by accessing the world wide web.
And to make it easier for arthritis sufferers – particularly older people with little or no experience of new technology – the charity has produced a simple Beginner's Guide to the Internet, which offers basic, practical assistance to Net newcomers.
"The Internet is the future, and in the new Millennium it's increasingly a vital tool, and a source of up-to-the-minute information," said Dr Elaine Hay, chairman of the ARC's Education Committee. "Many arthritis patients are older people who might not know very much about how to gain access to the Internet, or what to do once they've gone on-line. We want to show them that in fact it's very simple and that they shouldn't be intimidated or put off by jargon."
The guide will include the addresses of a number of good quality websites from hospitals, universities and research organisation in the US and the UK, plus the ARC's own website www.arc.org.uk which contains a wide range of patient information and details of research.
The charity is keen to make clear to new Internet users looking for unbiased information on arthritis and rheumatology that they use reputable sources of information, and to remember that whatever they learn should supplement - not replace - any advice from doctors and other health care professionals.
The increasing use of the Internet by rheumatology patients is likely to mean an increasing shift in the relationships between patients and doctors, as patients become more knowledgeable.
Sharon Kilty, aged 37, a former nurse who has psoriatic arthritis, said: "Being armed with information means that patients can negotiate their care with their consultant, and together reach a more informed package of care. Consequently they will become more empowered, and more in charge of their own lives."
Copies of the ARC Beginner's Guide are available from ARC Trading, Brunel Drive, Northern Road Industrial Estate, Newark, NG24 2DE, free of charge.
