Actionsets help people take an active role in managing a health condition.  Taking an active role in the management of your rheumatoid arthritis

What? - What is the medical information or key concepts related to the action? What does it mean to take an active role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is going to be big part of your life, perhaps for years—perhaps for the rest of your life. If you become involved in the day-to-day management of your health, you stand a better chance of maintaining the activities that fill your life. If you take on this job the same way you would take on a new career position, knowing it will require daily learning and practising and that there will be setbacks as well as successes, you are on your way to managing your rheumatoid arthritis.

  • Knowing what you will physically be able to do tomorrow, next year, and beyond, starts with learning what rheumatoid arthritis is and what is happening inside your body.
  • The next step is learning what you can do and what your limits are.
  • The third step is forming and following a self-management plan for your life.

Test Your Knowledge

  1. An important step in my management plan for rheumatoid arthritis is learning as much as possible about the disease and what it does.

    1. True
    2. False

Continue to Why? - Why the action is important? Why is it important to take an active role in developing a management plan for rheumatoid arthritis?
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Author: Carrie Henley
Robin Parks, MS
Last Updated: October 13, 2006
Medical Review: Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Tom Bailey, MD - Family Medicine
Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology

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