People with arthritis are at higher risk for developing mental health issues. Researchers believe that pain, fatigue, and other symptoms aggravate mental health and reduce the ability to self-manage and cope with arthritis. In this episode of Arthritis At Home, Kelly Lendvoy and Ellen Wang discuss the ACE Survey on mental health. 

ACE hopes to understand what steps people living with arthritis can take to care for their mental health and what specific challenges they may face when accessing professional and timely care. The Survey is open to people living with any form of arthritis and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.  The Survey deadline is June 8, 2022. 

Click here to complete the survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACESurveyMentalHealth

In this episode of Arthritis At Home, we are sharing the #CRArthritis interview with Cristina Montoya, a Registered Dietitian from Ontario, Canada. Cristina shares her journey with Sjögren’s syndrome and highlights key points from her talk on managing digestive disorders in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome.

Check out these helpful resources to learn more

• Arthritis Consumer Experts: Diet & Nutrition
• Arthritis Dietitian: Recipes & other resources
• Canada Food Guide

In this episode of Arthritis At Home, ACE president Cheryl Koehn has a discussion with ACE programs coordinator Ellen Wang on exercise and physical activity from patient and research perspectives. They talk about the difference between physical activity and exercise, how to incorporate exercise into your daily life and invite viewers to complete the 10-minute ACE Survey on Arthritis and Exercise.
 
 Take the ACE Survey on Arthritis and Exercise - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACESurveyExercise

In this episode of Arthritis At Home, Ms. Serina Khangura speaks to us about her pregnancy experience, including her pregnancy considerations with rheumatoid arthritis, talking to her family, support system and health professionals about becoming pregnant, her preparation for pregnancy and her journey through her first 18 weeks.
 
Ms. Serina Khangura was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 7 years ago. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant and works with Vancouver Coastal Health as a Senior Internal Auditor. Early on in her diagnosis, she did not fully understand the severity of her disease. This resulted in severe joint damage in her right shoulder which required a total shoulder replacement at the age of 31. 

Check out these resources to learn more

• Mamas Facing Forward 
• Pregnancy and Parenting with Arthritis: A Resource for Patients by Patients
• Arthritis At Home 69 – What should patients living with rheumatic disease consider when planning for a pregnancy?

In this episode of Arthritis At Home, we speak to Dr. Susan Bartlett, Professor of Medicine at McGill University and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, on her American College of Rheumatology annual meeting poster abstract titled “Real World Canadian RA Patient Outcomes Over the First Two Waves of COVID-19 Pandemic.” Dr. Bartlett takes a close look at the experiences of patients living with rheumatoid arthritis and their reported health outcomes.

Check out these resources to learn more

Abstract: Riding Multiple Waves of Uncertainty: Real World Canadian RA Patient Outcomes Over 1 Year of COVID-19 Restrictions – https://bit.ly/ACRAbstract2021-Susan1

Arthritis At Home Episode 7: Isolation and loneliness in the age of COVID-19 with Dr. Susan Bartlett – https://arthritisathome.jointhealth.org/?p=575

In celebration of the food festivities this weekend in the United States, we are sharing this #ArthritisAtHome episode with Kim Arrey, a Registered Dietitian who has extensive experience counselling patient who are seeking weight management advice.

Kim provides highlights from her session at this year’s CRA & AHPA Annual Scientific Meeting and explains how the food we eat can influence our disease journey with arthritis. She provides strategies for making dietary changes in a way that is manageable and low-stress, including how to make those changes during an emotionally challenging time like COVID-19.

Check out these helpful resources to learn more

Kim’s nutrition website - https://kimarreynutrition.com/

UnlockFood.ca - brought to you by Dietitians of Canada - https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/default.aspx 

September 30, 2021 was National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day that honoured the lost Indigenous Children, Survivors, their families and communities of Indian Residential Schools (IRS). In this second of a two-part series of Arthritis At Home, Dr. Terri-Lynn Fox discusses her research work on the experiences of Survivors from the Blackfoot Confederacy from six Indian Residential Schools.

 Dr. Fox is from the Blood Tribe, within the Blackfoot Confederacy, and practices her Siksikaitsitapi ways. Dr. Fox has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology; a Master’s degree in Sociology; and a Doctoral degree in Education. Her dissertation focus was Indian Residential Schools and the specific Perspectives of Blackfoot Confederacy People on the experiences of Survivors from the Blackfoot Confederacy from six residential schools, and the majority of her research is on and about Indian Residential Schools. Dr. Fox is both directly and indirectly affected by Indian Residential Schools. She is the daughter of two Survivors of an Indian Residential School and is a survivor of Indian Day Schools, herself. She is blessed with four children and six grandchildren.

 Click on the resources below to learn more:

• Indian Residential Schools: Perspectives of Blackfoot Confederacy People
• “The Unforgotten” – a short film on the health across 5 stages of life of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous approaches to health and racism in the health care system
• Arthritis At Home Episode 93: Learning about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with Dr. Terri-Lynn Fox 
• Podcast: Métis scholar and writer Mike Gouldhawke visits with Sara Mai to unpack his take on "colonial problem rebranded asIndigenous issues."
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
• The Gord Downie and Chenie Wenjack Fund: Reading resources for Truth and Reconciliation
• On Canada Project: Settlers Take Action
• National Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

September 30, 2021 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour the lost Indigenous Children, Survivors, their families and communities of Indian Residential Schools (IRS). In this first of a two-part series of Arthritis At Home, Dr. Terri-Lynn Fox shares her and the Indigenous community’s views about the significance of this first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and what non-Indigenous people can do to take action for Truth and Reconciliation.

Click on the resources below to learn more:

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action - 
• Orange Shirt Day 
• Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide by Historica Canada
• The Gord Downie and Chenie Wenjack Fund: Reading resources for Truth and Reconciliation
• On Canada Project: Settlers Take Action
• National Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

#NationalDayforTruthandReconciliation

No one knows arthritis better than those who live with it every day. Self-advocacy is a way of reaching out to others and explaining your arthritis experience and learning how to ask for support and help.

In this episode of Arthritis at Home, Kelly Lendvoy and Cheryl Koehn discuss ACE’s new National Survey on Arthritis Self-Advocacy. ACE’s Survey findings reveal how Canadians understand their disease, where they go to learn about treatment and care, as well as inequities and gaps in arthritis self-advocacy – who is experiencing them and what some of the challenges are.

Check out these helpful resources to learn more

• ACE National Survey on Arthritis Self-Advocacy
• Survey Infographic
• Arthritis Consumer Experts Advocacy
• Arthritis Research Canada: Diane Lacaille

In this episode of Arthritis At Home, Dr. Jackie Whittaker, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of British Columbia, talks about her recent Canadian Foundation for Innovation grant that will support the advance of her team’s research in musculoskeletal health. She highlights the importance of exercise and how staying active can help prevent, maintain, and manage bone and joint related pain and health. She concludes the interview by sharing insights and updates on osteoarthritis treatment.  

Check out these helpful resources to learn more 

Arthritis Research Canada: Jackie Whittaker, Research Scientist of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation – https://www.arthritisresearch.ca/jackie-whittaker/ 

Stop OsteoARthritis (SOAR) program: Preventing osteoarthritis (OA) after a sport-related injury – https://bit.ly/3gxVDKI

For patients: Talk to Your Doctor About Joint Pain Handout – http://bit.ly/JointPainTalkLetterFormatEN 

The Osteoarthritis Tool for Family Physicians – https://www.jointhealth.org/pdfs/OATookKit_En.pdf