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Media Releases
MARRTC Project Presented at National eHealth Research Conference
Columbia, Mo. (October 10, 2006) RAhelp.org, a research project designed to study the effectiveness of eHealth in helping people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was presented at the "Critical Issues in eHealth Research Conference" in Bethesda, Maryland last month.
eHealth, health care supported by electronic communication, is gaining popularity as more people are utilizing the Internet for health information. The Internet removes the physical, geographical and financial barriers that might stand between the average person and health care information. If that person is coping with a chronic health condition like RA, the need for health care information and self-management strategies becomes even greater.
RAhelp.org is a website to meet such needs. Launched by the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC), RAhelp provides health information and tailored self-management strategies. The website is also an online community for people with RA to interact with fellow members and consult with professionals. MARRTC researchers study the website's effectiveness in reducing pain and disability, improving quality of life and psychological well-being among its users.
Karen Smarr, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, serves as the principal investigator of the RAhelp.org project. Dr. Smarr reported that RAhelp.org has been well-utilized by people across the nation. Over three months, members were found to spend 340 minutes accessing the online self-management strategies and 150 minutes accessing the community discussion board.
Smarr stated that she was "pleased to find such high usage of the RAhelp site." "The inclusion of Internet delivery with telephone follow-ups may to be the key to the high utilization patterns. Participants appeared to be socially connected to professionals and members alike using this approach," says Smarr. As a MARRTC researcher and leader in arthritis research, Smarr hopes that her findings will begin to offer evidence that programs traditionally available only in face-to-face formats may be effectively delivered using alternative eHealth applications.
The "Critical Issues in eHealth Research Conference" was the 2nd annual interdisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners, students, and governmental agencies to discuss the state-of-the-science of eHealth research methodology related to health information technologies that bridges patient care across time and distance.
The RAhelp.org project is still recruiting research participants and will close recruitment by the end of November. If you are 18 years of age or older, have been diagnosed with RA by a doctor, have access to the Internet, and most importantly are interested in joining the group, please call Toll Free 1-888-740-6626 or visit http://rahelp.org/ for more information.
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation 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. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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