FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT
Jessica Daitch
Phone: 917-816-6712
Email: jdaitch@ghlf.org
Physicians Will Answer Live Patient Questions about Rheumatic Disease Management Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
UPPER NYACK, NY (August 12, 2020) – On August 22, 2020, CreakyJoints® Español, the digital patient community for people with all forms of arthritis and part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, in partnership with the Puerto Rican Foundation for Rheumatic Diseases (FER), will act as the master of ceremonies (MC) for FER’s Spanish language ReumaExpo 2020 International, Digital Edition. Featuring an international panel of rheumatologists, the live, virtual event is for people living with rheumatic diseases (arthritis, lupus, gout, osteoarthritis and others) who have questions about treatment and management strategies, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control, there are currently 4.4 million Hispanics in the United States with arthritis who have been diagnosed by a doctor. Although the prevalence of arthritis among Hispanics is lower than that of others, Hispanics are more than twice as likely to be disabled by arthritis and have joint damage, and they take longer to get diagnosed[1]. Data also show that Hispanic communities account for a disproportionate burden of COVID-19–related outcomes.[2] According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Among cases with known race and ethnicity, 33 percent of persons [with COVID-19] were Hispanic, 22 percent were black, and 1.3 percent were non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native,” despite only accounting for 18 percent, 13 percent, and 0.7 percent of the U.S. population, respectively.[3]
“More than ever before, people living with serious and lifelong rheumatic disease may find it overwhelming to make decisions about their care, which is why we’re so excited to help connect patients and their families to FER’s esteemed international panel of rheumatologists who will answer their questions, live,” said Daniel Hernandez, MD, Director of Medical Affairs and Hispanic Outreach, CreakyJoints. “This event is entirely free and we invite the Spanish-speaking community to take advantage of this opportunity to get their questions answered.”
ReumaExpo 2020 International, Digital Edition
The ReumaExpo 2020 International, Digital Edition will be live streamed for free on Saturday, August 22, 10:00 a.m. 2:00 pm on Facebook and YouTube.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62apUGYMZk4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1FundacionFER/
“At home, we’re focused on keeping our patients and our community safe during COVID-19 pandemic, implementing new standards to see patients in-office and utilizing technology to stay connected when needed,” said rheumatologist Oscar Soto Raices, MD, FER president. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed longstanding disparities faced by the Hispanic community in the U.S., which is why we’re very excited to offer this virtual event to Spanish-speaking people living with rheumatic disease no matter where they live.”
The Global Healthy Living Foundation and CreakyJoints Español are longtime supporters of FER, sponsoring their weekly radio program that airs on Radio Isla 1320, Radioisla.tv, and Facebook Live. CreakyJoints Español also partnered with FER to launch in 2019 the first Congress of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Puerto Rico.
CreakyJoints Español offers a repository of Spanish language arthritis educational information at https://es.creakyjoints.org and is conducting longitudinal research about the evolving impact of COVID-19 on people living with arthritis in English and Spanish via the Autoimmune COVID-19 Project. The ongoing study for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), arthritis, Crohn’s and colitis, and vasculitis is being led by CreakyJoints and implemented via its 28,000-member ArthritisPower® Research Registry in partnership with three other patient groups, IBD Partners, iConquerMS™, and the Vasculitis Patient-Powered Research Network
CreakyJoints is a digital community for millions of arthritis patients and caregivers worldwide who seek education, support, advocacy, and patient-centered research. We represent patients through our popular social media channels, our websites www.CreakyJoints.org, https://es.creakyjoints.org/, www.creakyjoints.org.au, and the 50-State Network, which includes more than 1,500 trained volunteer patient, caregiver and healthcare activists.
As part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, CreakyJoints also has a patient-reported outcomes registry called ArthritisPower® (ArthritisPower.org) with more than 28,000 consented arthritis patients who track their disease while volunteering to participate in longitudinal and observational research. CreakyJoints also publishes the popular “Raising the Voice of Patients” series, which are downloadable patient-centered educational and navigational tools for managing chronic illness. It also hosts PainSpot (PainSpot.org), a digital risk assessment tool for musculoskeletal conditions and injuries. For more information and to become a member (for free), visit www.CreakyJoints.org.
Find us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creakyjoints and https://www.facebook.com/GlobalHealthyLivingFoundation/
Twitter: @GHLForg, @CreakyJoints, #CreakyChats
Instagram: @creaky_joints, @creakyjoints_aus, @creakyjoints_esp
TikTok: globalhealthylivingfnd
[1] Riad, Mariam MD*; Dunham, Daniel P. MD†; Chua, Jacquelin R. MD*; et. al. Health Disparities Among Hispanics With Rheumatoid Arthritis, JCR: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology: June 18, 2019 – Volume Publish Ahead of Print – Issue – doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000001085 https://journals.lww.com/jclinrheum/Abstract/publishahead/Health_Disparities_Among_Hispanics_With_Rheumatoid.98983.aspx
[2] Hooper, MW, Napoles, AM, Perez-Stable, EJ, “COVID-19 and Racial/Ethnic Disparities,” JAMA. 2020;323(24):2466-2467. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.8598 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2766098
[3] Stokes EK, Zambrano LD, Anderson KN, et al. Coronavirus Disease 2019 Case Surveillance — United States, January 22–May 30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:759–765. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6924e2external icon.
