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Project 6: Civic Journalism for Arthritis and Disability: A National Strategic Communication Campaign
Although arthritis is the main cause of disability in the United States, most people in this country remain unaware of the tremendous difficulties faced by those who live with arthritis. Among the gravest hardships that people with arthritis deal with are poverty, significant dropout rate from high school and college, and lack of employment.
The goal of this project is to raise awareness about arthritis and arthritis disability by increasing coverage of the disease in local, regional and national media. In addition, the project will seek to improve the nature of arthritis coverage by bringing context, depth and perspective to stories that appear in the media. There are more than 100 forms of arthritis, each with its own set of symptoms and complications.
The project is collaboration among MARRTC, the Missouri School of Journalism, the National Newspaper Association (NNA) and the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization (IRE), the latter two being headquartered in the School of Journalism.
The motto of this public awareness campaign is “Disability is Everyone’s Issue.” Experts estimate that on average, every American, will spend 15 years of his or her life living with a disability. About 70 million Americans live with some form of arthritis disability, almost the same number as people suffering from heart disease and cancer combined.
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