Quebec university course turns arthritis sufferers into experts on their own disease

In a first in the province,a Quebec university is offering patientsin-depth courses on managingtheir chronic illness.

Dr. Isabelle Fortinpartneredwith the Universit du Qubec Rimouski (UQAR), 300 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, to designsix weeks of free workshops for arthritis patients.

During eachthree-hour class per week this semester, doctors, nurses, psychologists anda trained peer a personwith arthritistaught a dozen peopleabout living with their disease.

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The $68,000 pilot project, paid for through a fund subsidized by two pharmaceutical companies,wrapped up last week.

Noworganizers are seeking long-term funding to alternate the course on arthritis with courses for patients withother chronic diseases.

"There are so many things that we don't have time to say in the consultation with our patients," said Fortin, a rheumatologist.

The goal of the workshop isn't to turn them into medical experts, she said, but to give them in-depth knowledge on their illnessand tools forhow to cope.

Managing a chronic illness

Fortin got the idea for the not-for-credit course while dealing with her own son's autism.

"It's such a challenge to live with a disease or a handicap whenthere is nothing that you can do [to fix it]," she said.

She realized that managing a chronic disorder involves far more than standard medical treatments like medication and surgery.

After discovering how diet, sleep, lifestyle and other techniques would dampen her son's condition, she started talking to her own patients and realized they were going through a similar experience.

Arthritis also has no cure. Even when a patient finds a good medication that will prevent joint deformities, they can still have regular and constant pain, she said.

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So, Fortin began to think about what else could help them.

Patients take control

The patient university pilot project began by teaching its 12 participants the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis. They learned to understand their pain and the physical pathways that it takes, and how to cope with it.

The coursealso explores nutrition, exercise, sleep, the social aspects of the disease, and what the medications that treat the problem actually are.

The classes also encourage participants to share their own coping strategies.

Fortin said patients' reactions have been far beyond what she expected and that they using what they learn to take control of their lives and illness.

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"It changes their life," she said. "They thought the disease was going to be cured by the doctor or controlled by the doctor."

Fortin said she partnered with UQARbecause it is part of a network of universities that exist across the province. She has already started discussions with rheumatologists in the Quebec City area about a potential course at the UQAR campus in Lvis.