Health professionals

The Joint Potential programme complements the essential care given to young adults by health professionals. It helps the transition into adult services by giving young adults confidence to take control of their lives, and find ways to live the life they want.

We need your help - we need you to refer young adults aged 16-25 to this project, so that they can benefit and become more proactive about managing their condition.

The problem with being a young adult with arthritis is that you've the rest of your life ahead of you, living with a condition that's not going to go away. Managing the symptoms of arthritis is only part of the equation; there's a lot of frustration and anger about not being able to do what your peers can, and a real need to feel understood by other people. In the video below, our volunteers talk about their experiences of living with arthritis, about the Joint Potential project and how health professionals can help.

If you've already had two hip replacements by the age of 18, relationships can hold more than the usual worries. If a young adult gets a lift up one floor because they can't manage the stairs, they get disapproving looks. It's easy to get angry or depressed, living with a long-term condition; sometimes there has to be a reason to get out of bed and get dressed, a reason to hope for a more positive future.

Joint Potential changes attitudes about how to live with arthritis by exploring sensitive issues, building confidence, solving problems and helping identify goals. We know we're successful in this because of testimonials from this programme elsewhere in the UK.

This means a better result for everyone: young adults with arthritis will be less frustrated and more positive about what they can do; and by knowing themselves better and balancing the need to let off steam while managing their condition, it should mean their treatment is more effective, which will help you in your work.

You can refer anyone between 16-25 who has any form of arthritis. They may be newly diagnosed or have known about their condition for a number of years - they can still benefit from the events.

All events are FREE. Participants can come to one event or more, depending on availability - places are limited, so encourage anyone you refer to apply quickly if they are interested.

If you'd like to refer anyone to Joint Potential, they can contact us as follows:

• website: www.jointpotential.org.uk
• email: Info@JointPotential.org.uk
• office: 0141 954 7776

We've got business-card flyers which will make handing this information out even easier; request them using this order form.

We've already given a presentation to Rheumatology teams in Glasgow (Southern General) and Aberdeen (Royal Infirmary), both of whom support Joint Potential. If your department would like someone to come and speak to your team about Joint Potential, we'd be happy to arrange this, so that more young adults can be encouraged to attend and benefit from this programme.

Contact us at Arthritis Care on 0141 954 7776 or email Info@JointPotential.org.uk

Joint Potential materials

If you'd like materials to help publicise Joint Potential in your clinic or at work, we have produced the following materials. The posters state the previous age-range, 17-25 but hopefully we'll remember to put on the sticker with the updated age range of 16-25!

If you'd like any of these materials, please use the order form to send your request - we'll send them to you within 5 working days. There's also a blog article which you're welcome to use for department/team websites.