For 1 in 2 young people with jRMDs, the disease continues into adulthood, often experiencing challenges in managing it throughout their lives. Many adolescents struggle to take responsibility for their disease, especially while balancing school, social life and figuring out who they are and their place in the world. This may make the transition from paediatric to adult care particularly difficult. During this transition, up to 50% of young people with jRMDs discontinue their treatment, leading to worse disease outcomes.
To address this, EULAR has put together a new set of points-to-consider to help young people and their transitional care teams maximise the patient education offering, specifically around physical activity and self-management of pain. There are already full recommendations around transitional care, 1 but a gap has been identified around this particular topic.
The new work, published in the November 2024 issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases , includes two overarching principles and seven points-to-consider. These guidelines suggest prioritising education on physical activity and self-management through early, personalised and flexible support to help young people with jRMDs self-manage their condition. The central focus is on enhancing knowledge and health literacy, empowering young people to critically evaluate information and engage in informed shared decision-making. By fostering healthy habits and encouraging enjoyable physical activity, the guidelines aim to promote long-lasting behavioural changes. EULAR aims for the new publication to guide clinical practice and support the transition of care from paediatric to adult services.
Source
Courel-Ibáñez J, et al. EULAR points to consider for patient education in physical activity and self-management of pain during transitional care. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases Published Online First: 11 November 2024. doi: 10.1136/ard-2024-226448
References
About EULAR
EULAR is the European umbrella organisation representing scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). EULAR aims to reduce the impact of RMDs on individuals and society, as well as improve RMD treatments, prevention, and rehabilitation. To this end, EULAR fosters excellence in rheumatology education and research, promotes the translation of research advances into daily care, and advocates for the recognition of the needs of those living with RMDs by EU institutions.
Contact
EULAR Communications, communications@eular.org
Notes to Editors
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases