Virginia Approaches to Addressing Arthritis-Component B - Nearly 1.8 million Virginians suffer from arthritis with 40.6% reporting limited capacity to engage in activities of daily living. Therefore, there is a significant need to disseminate sustainable, arthritis appropriate evidence-based interventions (AAEBIs) to reduce arthritis burden in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Arthritis Program (VAP) has been working to reduce the prevalence of these outcomes through strategic and collaborative partnerships to implement state-based approaches to improve arthritis management and quality of life for adults with arthritis. Through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) DP-23-0001 Component B, the VAP will build on previous successes and continue to establish a sustainable network for referrals to AAEBIs that covers the state geographically and provides access to populations and communities that are disproportionately affected by arthritis. VAP will support the following AAEBIs during the five-year grant period: Walk With Ease, Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Tormando Control de su Salud, and Tai Chi for Arthritis. By working with CDC funded programs as well as statewide and community partners including local Area Agencies on Aging, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Virginia Department of Parks and Recreation, the following activities will be used: to reach 15,000 adults: 1) program locator to help support AAEBI enrollment and referral systems, 2) using a program portal to support AAEBI enrollment and tracking of individual’s participation 3) using reimbursement or financing including health plan benefits or inclusions for sustainability, 4) combining local parks, trail and greenspace infrastructure changes or interventions with one or more AAEBIs, 5) engaging state agency or other large employee worksite wellness programs to offer AAEBIS or make them accessible to employees, and 6) embedding AAEBIs into large or multi-site community organizations. It is through these proposed activities that VDH anticipates that modest population-based changes will have a significant impact on health outcomes related to arthritis. A large focus will also be on working with VDH CDC funded chronic disease programs with multiple partners including the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) and local universities to educate and train healthcare providers including physicians, nurses, community health workers (CHWs), and healthcare students to improve knowledge of AAEBIs. These trainings will use materials including Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) to develop a coordinated program for screening for physical activity, with counseling, and referral to AAEBIs. Programs such as SYNC Transforming Healthcare Leadership program will be used to develop a sustainable model of care and best practices around physical activity, and Project Echo (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) to train healthcare providers to build a model of medical education and care management to increase physical activity awareness, counseling, and referrals to AAEBIs. The MSV and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association partnerships with VDH CDC Cardiovascular and Diabetes programs will also include VAP and create facility tailored Chronic Care Models in three targeted areas using hospitals care coordinators, CHWs, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Unite Us to establish electronic systems for physical activity assessment, counseling, and referrals to AAEBIs for persons with eight chronic diseases, including arthritis. VAP will monitor, evaluate, and expand the local health district projects with CHWs, FQHCs, and Unite Us to provide referrals to AAEBIs, using EIM. VAP will continue to use multiple data sources and digital communication to evaluate programs and raise awareness of arthritis burden across the state, as well as disseminate information to partners including to the members of the Virginia Arthritis and Falls Prevention Coalition.
