Episode 27: There‘s a Method to Our Madness

This week join your host Tiffany Westrich-Robertson, CEO of International Foundation for AiArthritis, as she explains the Method to Our Madness! This episode will give you an insider’s view of the AiArthritis organization and the way the AiArthritis Voices 360 talk show fits into the organization’s mission and projects.

In this episode Tiffany revisits one of the first mini-sodes we aired, “The importance of differentiating arthritis types” (November 29th, Mini-Ep2) to demonstrate how we put each topic “on the table” in Step 2 and then revisit it again in Step 5 - after inviting YOU “to the table’ to be part of the conversation.  

The topic we are building the conversation around today is about the term “arthritis”. Too many people associate the term with a mild condition of aging and do not understand the physical or emotional damage that aiarthritis diseases can have on patients suffering from them. In addition to a lack of support, this lack of understanding can also cause costly delays in diagnosis and treatment when patients or their primary care physicians fail to recognize the symptoms of aiarthritis diseases. These delay diagnosis can result in low remission rates, high prevalence of disability, compromised quality of life, and inflated healthcare costs. 

This topic is a primary mission point at AiArthritis, and that’s why it will be one of the feature LIVE AiArthritis Voices 360 topics we address in our first AUTO Ball ONLINE event (May 16 - 20th, 2020). So listen to this episode, then be sure to join us, along with special guests, as we take this discussion to Step 5 - one step closer to creating solutions!

 

The AUTO Ball is a gala to celebrate the 450 million people living with AiArthritis diseases worldwide, teach a bigger audience what we do and our impact, and raise awareness by hosting the event with a fun, auto-influence educational theme. This Ball was supposed to be a physical event, but due to COVID-19 we have taken it ONLINE. Now everyone can attend!  So make sure to register (FREE) for a full agenda of events and to learn how you can get involved. 

Visit www.aiarthritis.org/autoball to register (FREE) today! Even if you cannot make any of the live activities if you register we will send an event overview to you after-the-fact, complete with links to everything you missed. 

 

Patient Voices and All Other Stakeholders - Join our AiArthritis Voices Program and Connect to Opportunities to Have Your Voice Counted!

 

If you are a patient, a parent of a juvenile patient, or any other stakeholder (doctor, nurse, researcher, industry representative, or other health services person) - are you ready to join the conversation? It's your turn to pull up a seat. Join our new AiArthritis Voices program, where people living with AiArthritis diseases and other stakeholders who we need 'at the table' to solve problems that impact education, advocacy, and research sign up to have a voice in our initiatives. By signing up, you’ll get notified of opportunities to be more involved with this show - including submitting post-episode comments and gaining insider information on future show topics. Patients and all other stakeholders are encouraged to join so we can match you with opportunities to pull up a seat and TOGETHER - as equals - solve the problems of today and tomorrow.

JOIN TODAY!

 

AiArthritis Voices 360 is produced by the International Foundation for Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Arthritis. Visit us on the web at www.aiarthritis.org/talkshow. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook (@ifAiArthritis) or email us (podcast@aiarthritis.org).

 

Be sure to check out our top-rated show on  Feedspot!

 

Show Notes: Episode 27 – “Method To Our Madness”

 

00:47 - Tiffany welcomes listeners to today’s episode

1:36 - AiArthritis is a unique organization because it was founded by patients living with AiArthritis diseases to facilitate conversations between a global pool of patients and other stakeholders to solve the problems that impact education, awareness, public policy, or research

2:36 - The patient voice is always either leading the conversation or an equal participant in the conversations AiArthritis supports

3:17 - At aiarthritis.org/podcast, listeners can view a graphic highlighting the 6 steps AiArthritis follows to tackle problems 

4:52 - The first step is to talk to other patients about identified problems

5:40 - Step 2 is to bring the topic to the podcast to expand the conversation and include our listeners

7:41 - Step 3 is to go back to the community and expand the conversation even further using social media platforms or our private online forum, AiArthritis Voices 

10:13 - In Step 4, we take all of the ideas, suggestions, and stories collected and analyze the information to develop an action plan

10:50 - In Step 5, we invite other stakeholders to join us and work to develop solutions

14:49 - Today we are revisiting the subject of differentiating arthritis types because this conversation is ready to enter Step 5 of our process

15:45 - The word arthritis is an umbrella term meaning joint inflammation or joint pain

16:01 - If the general public associates arthritis with a natural aging process, they do not understand the plight of people living with AiArthritis diseases

16:44 - Arthritis from aging or that develops after an injury is degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis

17:08 - Many people assume that arthritis is relatively mild, but both aiarthritis and osteoarthritis can be extremely painful

18:58 - Patients with autoimmune or autoinflammatory arthritis experience pain months or years before the damage is visible on imaging

19:58 - If Primary Care Physicians do not quickly recognize the difference between AiArthritis and osteoarthritis, patients experience diminished outcomes as a result of delayed diagnosis and delayed treatment

21:36 - Educating the general public about the difference between osteoarthritis and aiarthritis could also help improve diagnosis times and access to treatment because it would encourage symptomatic patients to see a doctor sooner

24:36 - You can register for the AUTO Ball at https://www.aiarthritis.org/autoball and be notified of when Step 5 of this conversation will take place LIVE on Facebook