The Public Health Approach to Reducing the Burden of Arthritis

This section of the knowledge-builder screens provides a brief overview of the public health approach to reducing the impact of arthritis. You can learn more on this topic by going back to the DHPE Website to view a second online course, Arthritis The Public Health Approach (http://www.dhpe.org). I'll be your professor for a course that provides more detailed information and practical exercises for learning and applying the public health approach to arthritis.

According to the National Arthritis Action Plan (NAAP), the role of biomedical research is to increase our understanding of the causes and mechanisms of diseases, and to help develop efficacious interventions for them. Responsibility for applying those interventions rests with the medical care and public health communities, who must ensure that that patients and their families and the public at large receive appropriate information about the interventions and have access to them as early as possible.

Because arthritis imposes a tremendous individual and societal impact—and because effective interventions are available—arthritis needs a coordinated public health approach. The focus of that approach should be broad and encompass whole population groups—in contrast with the classic medical approach, which addresses the individual patient. The challenge for public health is to identify and help implement strategies for improving the health of large population groups.

Many organizations have come together to set objectives and develop partnerships to reduce the burden of arthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided funding to state health departments to initiate or enhance their arthritis control activities since 1999. CDC and state health departments have developed a framework for public health programs. This section of the course provides a brief overview of the CDC-State framework, introduces key players, and highlights objectives.