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News Releases
Researchers Examine Role of Internet and Its Benefits on Health Care
Columbia, Mo. (Oct. 21, 2004) - As the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States, older adults also represent the fastest growing computer and Internet users. So can an online program assist older adults when it comes to dealing with a disability or chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis? A study at the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at MU is now recruiting participants to find just that.
Investigator Karen Smarr seeks to find whether older adults with rheumatoid arthritis can benefit from online workshops about coping with arthritis in their daily lives. She'll specifically take a closer look at whether the online program has the ability to:
- boost psychological well-being of the participants;
- help reduce pain among participants;
- improve the quality of life;
- increase the global health status;
- increase social support for older adults with rheumatoid arthritis.
"Helping older adults maintain their independence is an integral part of health care, and one way to do that is through the Internet," says Kathy Donovan Hanson, a research associate of Smarr. "We have already shown that the self-management program is effective in a face-to-face setting. Now we'd like to determine whether it is effective online."
Smarr and other researchers will examine 140 adults over the age of 65 diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The participants will be able to exchange e-mails and engage in discussions with other participants and the instructors who teach the program. Participants also will learn how to cope with rheumatoid arthritis in several distinct areas including pain reduction, self-esteem, self-efficacy, interpersonal relationships, fatigue, stress reduction and social support.
Older adults are not always able to drive to clinics to attend self-help arthritis programs or to network with other people who have arthritis. Therefore, this online program was designed to help remove transportation and disability barriers. The study's findings also could help reduce the cost and manpower needed to offer education in places such as support groups, hospitals and senior centers.
For information about MARRTC, please call toll-free 1-877-882-6826 or visit the Web site at www.marrtc.org.
The Online Self-management Program for Older Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis project will examine whether a home-based self-management program delivered via the Internet will help older adults deal with pain and disability caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
The Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions.
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