WOrld young Rheumatic Diseases Day (WORD Day) - 18th March 2019

[Paul_Howard]

Hi everyone,

The first WOrld young Rheumatic Diseases Day (WORD Day) will be taking place on 18th March 2019. The new annual event will take place on the same date each year as an international awareness day for children and young adults living with rheumatic diseases such as lupus.

The key messages for this year are that children and young people get rheumatic diseases and that early intervention can impact health outcomes. The ultimate aim of WORD Day is to raise the awareness and knowledge level of parents, doctors, primary practitioners, teachers, and the general public to help early diagnoses, and a quick referral to specialised paediatric rheumatologists. We hope that awareness will have a ripple effect on all levels of practitioners who come in contact with these children, improving the level of treatment they receive and and their prognosis worldwide.

The event has been planned by ENCA (The European Network for Children with Arthritis) and PReS (The Paediatric Rheumatology European Association). In particular, WORD Day is targeted at doctors who are the first clinicians to come into contact with these patients (e.g. general paediatricians), parents, other health practitioners and educators. You can find out more about WORD Day and watch the video at word-day.com

If you are 16-26 and were diagnosed with juvenile-onset lupus (JSLE) or you are the parent of a child with JSLE and would like to share your story as part of the campaign, please email [e-mail]