NEWS

Local angle: Craven, Jones, Pamlico and Pitt counties

Local community coordinators trained by UNC to help area residents better manage arthritis, other chronic diseases

CHAPEL HILL -- Twenty-three Craven, Jones and Pamlico county residents are now qualified as community coordinators of a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill project comparing two programs to help people with arthritis and other chronic diseases manage their conditions.

As new community coordinators with the "Yes We Can!" project, they will train people with arthritis and other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease to deal with the symptoms, pain and fatigue of such diseases; plan and implement an individualized exercise program; and manage other challenges related to having a healthy life with chronic health problems.

The training is the first step in a new study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine which of two community-based self-help programs, the Arthritis Self-Help Course (ASHC) or the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), most effectively helps people with arthritis and other chronic diseases.

The UNC study is the first to compare which of the two programs is most effective for individuals with arthritis and to emphasize their effectiveness among rural and black populations.

ASHC and CDSMP are community-based, self-help programs designed and tested by health educators, researchers and physicians at Stanford University to help individuals with chronic disease learn to better manage their symptoms and care for themselves.

Arthritis is one of two leading causes of disability nationwide, said Dr. Jean Goeppinger, the study’s lead researcher and a professor at UNC’s schools of nursing and public health. Arthritis-related disability and other common chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are more prevalent among the black population and rural residents than among whites and urban residents, she said.

Community coordinators are recruiting 300 program participants in Craven, Jones and Pamlico counties to take part in the study, said Goeppinger. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the ASHC or CDSMP program, to be led by one of the newly trained coordinators.

Researchers will compare the effectiveness of the two programs by examining how participants use their local health-care services, rate their health-related quality of life, change their health behaviors to better self-manage the condition and become empowered by changes in their self-management behaviors.

The goal, in addition to helping individuals with chronic disease learn better ways of managing their condition, is to help health-care providers make decisions on which program will be best for the populations they serve, said Goeppinger.

Both programs have been designed to complement, not replace, traditional medical care, she added.

"People with chronic diseases such as arthritis live 24 hours a day, seven days a week with their diseases," said Goeppinger. "They need to learn how to live well with their chronic diseases by becoming good self-managers. This includes working with their physicians. This study will determine which program is most helpful for rural residents and African Americans."

The new community coordinators earned their training certificates for the "Yes We Can!" project at a recent ceremony at the New Bern-Craven County Public Library. They include Jelani Fletcher Allen, Ruth Barnes, Freda Barron, Evelyn Barrow, Marilyn M. Bond, Clement Brown, Ethel E. Brown, Dr. Retta M. Brown, Maria Collins, Thelma R. Davis, Patricia Davis-Cooper, Azalee Floyd, Eunice Hargrave-Harris, Mary George, Geneva Horne, Grace S. Hudson, Claire Martin-Combs, Edith Miller, Dr. Billy C. Smith, Theresa Taylor, Shirley Whitney, Gertha Williams and Doris S. Young.

Local community partners assisting with the study include the Neuse-Pamlico Sound Women’s Coalition; the Craven County Department of Public Health; Dr. Sydney Barnwell, medical consultant; and Dr. Don Ensley, assistant vice chancellor for community engagement at East Carolina University.

"Without our community partners, ‘Yes We Can!’ would never be successful," said Goeppinger. "Our partners have been invaluable in identifying community members to serve as volunteer leaders and community coordinators. They are passionate about improving the health of their communities, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as we begin offering the ASHC and CDSMP."

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Note: Goeppinger can be reached at jgoeppin@email.unc.edu or (877) 668-0682. Barnwell can be reached at (252) 636-4993. Stephanie Fisher with the Craven County Health Department can be reached at (252) 636-4930, ext. 3629.

School of Nursing contact: Sunny Smith Nelson, (919) 966-1412