Building a Unique Partnership to Serve People With Arthritis in the Hispanic Community

Arthritis, the most common cause of disability in the United States, is a growing public health problem that impacts daily-life activities, work, and joint pain for all racial/ethnic groups. According to recent NHIS data, 11 percent of Hispanic adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis. Data also shows that Hispanics have a higher proportion of arthritis-attributable work limitation and severe joint pain in comparison to non Hispanic whites, limiting activities for almost half of those diagnosed with arthritis. Additionally, there is evidence that those with arthritis in the Hispanic population may under utilize certain health services for their arthritis and often face greater barriers to traditional sources of medical information. To address the growing burden of arthritis in the Hispanic community, the Arthritis Foundation (AF) and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH) joined together in a unique partnership to learn how to best engage communities. The AF and the NAHH hosted a partnership meeting involving representatives of Hispanic organizations and regional AF offices from six states. The purpose of the meeting was to develop ways to improve community partnerships to better serve the Hispanic community affected by arthritis. The development, implementation, evaluation, and best practices illuminated by the partnership activities will be presented, along with current and future activities both locally and nationally that resulted from the partnership meeting, including policy and program issues. Additionally, recommendations for future arthritis prevention and control initiatives targeted to this population will be discussed.