Arthritis & Osteoporosis Program Snapshot

Missouri Arthritis Advisory Board

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, administers the Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program. The program has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a model public health response to the nation’s most pervasive chronic disease. In addition to provisions of secondary and tertiary prevention programs, the MAOP is committed to continuing to define the problem of arthritis and osteoporosis in the state. The program supports the development and implementation of appropriate interventions and continually evaluates the success of these efforts.

Program and services in Missouri (awareness, disease information and self-management/support programs, and professional education) are possible only through legislation and the dedication of program staff, the Missouri Arthritis Advisory Board, Regional Arthritis Centers, and the many local, regional, state, and national partners.

History
In 1976, an alliance of Missourians affected by arthritis was formed with the support of health professionals, business leaders and public officials. Through study groups, public hearings, a needs survey and the generation of a three-volume Governor’s Report on Arthritis, their work led to the enactment of the Missouri Arthritis Act of 1984. The Act formally created the “Missouri Arthritis Program”.

Collaboration
The program collaborates with regional and national organizations concerned with the care and treatment of individuals with arthritis. Regional health care institutions, Arthritis Foundation chapters, University Extension Offices, Area Health Education Centers, Local Public Health Departments, the Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation Training Center and other state agencies such as the Division of Maternal Child and Family Health and the Division of Aging, assist in implementing state-wide arthritis control activities.

Goals
Quality of life encompasses an overall sense of well being, including aspects of happiness and satisfaction with life as a whole. Health-related quality of life encompasses those aspects of overall quality of life that can be shown to impact health – either physical or mental. On an individual level, this includes physical and mental health perceptions and their correlates, including health risks and conditions, functional status, social support, and socioeconomic status. On a community level, it includes resources, conditions, policies, and practices that influence populations’ health perceptions and functional status.

The core program goals provide general direction to the program and partners to improve the quality of life among all Missourians with a focus primarily on individuals with arthritis and related conditions.

• Reduce disability caused by arthritis or joint symptoms. Disability is defined as a limiting health condition that interferes with their performance of socially defined activities and roles such as work.
• Increase public awareness of arthritis and related conditions as the leading cause of disability, the mechanisms of prevention and management, and the resources available throughout the state.
• Increase expansion and continuation of arthritis education, programs and support services in Missouri for people with arthritis and their families; particularly the elderly, women and children, underserved populations who may lack access to health care services; and other high-risk populations.
• Improve quality of health care practices and enable an accountable health care system for all Missourians with arthritis and related conditions.
• Enhance and strengthen surveillance/monitoring of disease prevalence, related risk factors, and National Healthy People 2010 Objectives.