The program

Thank you for visiting the “Arthritis is cured! (if you want it)” website to learn more about how you can take action against arthritis.

Among the top three chronic diseases in Canada, arthritis is actually a group of more than 100 diseases. One in six Canadian adults has arthritis – that’s nearly 4.5 million people – costing the economy billions of dollars per year.

If we want to find a cure for arthritis, we need Canadians to start talking about arthritis.

In the Fall 2009, Arthritis Consumer Experts and The Arthritis Society launched the “Arthritis is cured! (if you want it)” National Arthritis Awareness Program (NAAP) across Canada to inform the public about arthritis and provide Canadians with greater insight into the severity of this disease and information on how to access the vast arthritis support network available to them.

Informing the public is however, only one side of the equation. As the number one reason a person over the age of 65 visits their family physician, arthritis diagnosis and management begins with Canadian healthcare professionals. The “Arthritis is cured! (if you want it)” program’s purpose is not just to raise arthritis awareness with patients and their families, but also to raise arthritis issues with healthcare professionals. The NAAP is now focusing on engaging these professionals to efficiently identify and address arthritis.