UPPER NYACK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CreakyJoints® Español, the international digital community for millions of arthritis patients and caregivers who seek education, support, advocacy, and patient-centered research, part of the non-profit Global Healthy Living Foundation, today launched a new digital guide written specifically for people whose primary language is Spanish to educate them about living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Optimized for mobile (and desktop) use, the digital guide’s activity center includes different learning modules, such as videos, quizzes, and infographics, that will help people living with RA understand their treatment and management options and offer tips for working with their health care provider team.
In addition to being a comprehensive education program, the digital guide is also stand-alone, IRB-approved research that will inform understanding of the best practices to educate people about living with RA. CreakyJoints Español tracks engagement and responses to the quizzes and other activities, and analyzes if this educational format improves understanding of RA.
“We started CreakyJoints Español nearly five years ago understanding that there is a significant lack of health resources for people whose primary language is something other than English,” said Daniel Hernandez, MD, Director of Medical Affairs and Hispanic Outreach at the Global Healthy Living Foundation. “Our website and social media platforms now include hundreds of articles about living with arthritis, updates on the latest arthritis research, and the stories of our members managing their day-to-day symptoms. With this new digital guide, we’ll be able to both measure the impact of our education and attempt to address the disparity that affects our community, especially those newly diagnosed with RA.”
It is estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Hispanics are more than twice as likely to become disabled from arthritis and experience joint damage.
Culturally Appropriate Education Prioritized
The new digital guide is part of a larger program introduced by CreakyJoints Español called Hispanic Outreach Program Effect–Culturally Appropriate Education (HOPE–CAPE), which focuses on cultural training for rheumatologists and education for the Hispanic RA patient. The program includes a patient-council that meets weekly with CreakyJoints Español staff to review educational materials written in Spanish, discuss health disparities and barriers to access care, and share ways to reach the Hispanic community.
“We’re so impressed by our patient ambassadors who are actively contributing to positive changes in how we deliver education to people whose primary language is Spanish," said Angel Tapia, GHLF’s Patient Advocate and Hispanic Community Outreach Manager. “As the project evolves, we’re able to better understand what’s working and not working when it comes to RA patient care and education, which allows us to adapt our materials and approach along the way.”
According to Pew Hispanic Research, 71 percent of Hispanics obtain health information through their social networks, and 79 percent of them act on this information. But the general health information available for the Hispanic community online heavily leans toward dangerous misinformation, which has led to low levels of diagnosis and a growing knowledge gap, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Puerto Rico resident Wigna Cruz lived with painful and exhausting symptoms for years. It took years before her doctor diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis, but not before she became frustrated by misdiagnoses and home remedies that didn’t work. She felt scared and alone. After she was diagnosed and over time, she built trust with her rheumatologist and began to see results from treatment. Getting educated about her disease was vital to taking steps to start treatment.
“I tell people it’s important to be well-informed and get factual information,” said Ms. Cruz, a member of HOPE–CAPE patient council. “Even though RA does not have a cure, it is treatable, but you have to be proactive. The more you know about your condition, the more control you have in making decisions with your rheumatologist about your care. I hope the newly diagnosed will take advantage of this new digital guide and then become an active member of CreakyJoints Español to stay updated with the latest information about the studies, the different treatments and all the information necessary to know how to live with rheumatoid arthritis.”
To learn more about the digital guide, visit www.CJES.org.
CreakyJoints Español’s HOPE–CAPE project was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, whose mission is to promote health equity and improve the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by serious diseases.
About CreakyJoints Español
CreakyJoints® Español is an international digital community for millions of arthritis patients and caregivers who seek education, support, advocacy, and patient-centered research. Carefully curated and translated resources from CreakyJoints and content original to CreakyJoints Español targets the real-life experience of people with arthritis living in Spanish-speaking households and communities is available on our website and via our social media channels, including Instagram and WhatsApp.
Part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, CreakyJoints Español also has a patient-reported outcomes research registry available in Spanish called ArthritisPower® (ArthritisPower.org.es), which includes tens of thousands of consented arthritis patients who track their disease while volunteering to participate in longitudinal and observational peer-reviewed research. CreakyJoints Español also hosts eRheum (eRheum.org.es), a platform providing telehealth and virtual-care support. All programming is free, always. For more information, visit CreakyJoints.org.es.
Find us online:
CreakyJoints Español: CreakyJoints.org.es
CreakyJoints: CreakyJoints.org
CreakyJoints Australia: CreakyJoints.org.au
CreakyJoints Canada: CreakyJoints.ca
Global Healthy Living Foundation: ghlf.org
Facebook: facebook.com/CreakyJoints & facebook.com/GlobalHealthyLivingFoundation
Twitter: @GHLForg, @CreakyJoints, #CreakyChats
Instagram: @creaky_joints, @creakyjoints_aus, @creakyjoints_esp
TikTok: globalhealthylivingfnd
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/ghlf
