Questions...The clue is in the name!

Hi Everyone,

As promised, we are continuing to make changes to your NRAS.HealthUnlocked site to make it even more helpful and enjoyable for you to use.

The next ‘add-on’ will be happening tomorrow and will be a new separate section called ‘Questions’. The clue is in the name: it’s a place for you to ask questions on all aspects of living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and for other people to answer these questions based on their own knowledge and experiences. The team here from NRAS will pitch in of course when we can add some more detail.

This new section of the website will mean that all of you with those ‘burning questions’ about medications, procedures etc will have a specific place to ask them and receive helpful answers. It also means that the blog section can stay purely for blogs where you can share your experiences managing the disease. And it’s easy to cut and paste weblinks in to articles or online resources that you think could help.

We noticed that quite a few blogs had either been questions about RA (which is why we have added the Questions module) or very ‘chatty’ almost like a chat room. I thought the helpful tips on blogging below might help clarify this (do contact me if you want me to send you our short guide to blogging):

• Most blogs are a few paragraphs long, each person will have their own style of writing but a typical blog may be about your recent day-to-day experiences, your life after being diagnosed, tips and observations about living with RA or research/articles that will help others.

• Blogging is supposed to be an enjoyable way to share your experiences so don’t set yourself too hard a target at first, the more you blog the easier it will get!

Below is a great article about blogging; it goes into how to pick a topic, how to decide on a goal and how to ‘hook’ your audience in. outspokenmedia.com/blogging...

I hope you all enjoy the new questions and answers sections and that you make it as interesting and helpful as you’ve made your blogs. Do get in contact with me if you have any other queries about this.

I look forward to reading all your blogs in the future – and now your questions too!

Emma

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Hi Emma, will try my best in answering questions based on my experiences, and of course to writing some interesting bloggs.

I think people have just got a little carried away on the site, me included,which can only be a good thing as they have got to know each other so well have used it for chatting away and this as made us all feel very much at ease.I hope the site will be a continued success and help even more people with RA.

mand xx

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Thanks Emma

Looking forward to the changes which can only be for the better.

Have sent you a message,

Lyn x

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Hi Emma

Please can you tell me how it is decided to make changes to the health unlocked site and whether there is any consultation process in place for the membership?

Also re the questions add on who will be answering these? is it open to all again?

is there a place for chatting on health unlocked? I feel that there is but await feedback on that.

Many thanks

Fiona

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hi emma my thoughts exactly

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good site, good idea about the questions policy

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yes we need chatting. blogging and info and q and a also.. maybe with links feeding to nras.. must congratulate again on the site and the latest fab edition of nras spring magazine

alison

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Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your comments, it's great that so many of you have become friends and think of this site as a support network - these were definitely our aims when setting it up.

The decisions to make amendments to the HealthUnlocked site come from suggestions and comments from members, along with ideas from both NRAS and HealthUnlocked. We felt that there were a lot of questions being asked on the blogs and felt you would all benenfit from having a dedicated place for these questions.

Unfortunately there is no specific 'chat room' on the HealthUnlcoked site although we always encourage commenting on other members' blogs. If a chat room is what you are looking for then take a look at our Members' Forum which has been running for a couple of years now and is full of useful information about RA - along with places to 'let off steam' and talk about things that aren't related to your RA!

I hope you enjoy the new 'Questions' section of the site - I look forward to reading them.

Emma

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Hi Emma

Would it be possible to make the process more transparent /democratic when changes are being made? ie to invite feedback on changes before making them?

This way it can be ensured that the site is representative of all the members views as opposed to being controlled from top down?

thanks

fiona

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Ps When I say controlled from top down- I am not sure how many members were involved in contributing to the recent change? Am still not sure how things work in terms of protocol/policy for user consultation on this site. Apologies if there was a open process for this and I was unaware.

Cheers

Fiona

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Thanks Sparkle, we try to deliver a range of ways to provide support – and opportunities for you to support each other – across many methods. We have been expanding the HealthUnlocked site more slowly so that this is a something that we know NRAS can resource properly and make sure that it is sustainable long term. Also to check that our members genuinely value it and it has become obvious that you do.

In regards to what users would like, members have contacted us directly before and also submitted ideas directly to HealthUnlocked (via the Feedback button, top right). Ideas are reviewed with the admins of the online communities. Do please carry on submitting your ideas in this way as it does help us understand what would make the site work even better. There are no plans to develop a more formal consultation process.

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Hello, it'sme again bringing up the rear. I don;t have much to add to the other comment really, only my praise of the site, and how the admin team have been able to keep on top of what is happening on the site and the speed with which you have identified what would improve it. It's all good to me. I feel sure that any comments I make are listening to and if appropriate acted on. Well done everyone. It's brilliant.

Julie x