WHEREAS arthritis includes more than 100 diseases and conditions affecting joints, the surrounding tissues, and other connective tissues; and

WHEREAS in the United States, arthritis is the cause of at least 44 million visits to healthcare providers, almost 750,000 hospitalizations, and four million days of hospital care each year; and

WHEREAS in the United States arthritis is estimated to cost $65 billion per year in medical care and lost productivity; and

WHEREAS the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that by the year 2010, over one million people in Washington State will have symptoms of arthritis; and

WHEREAS in a telephone survey in Washington State in 2000, 40 percent of adults said they had some form of arthritis; and

WHEREAS people with arthritis are more likely to need daily assistance in self-care activities, tend to have lower incomes, are more likely to report poorer health, and are less likely to be employed, even among those who are not of a typical age to retire; and

WHEREAS promising primary prevention strategies include weight control and occupational and sports injury prevention; and

WHEREAS promising secondary and tertiary prevention strategies include early diagnosis, appropriate medical treatment, and self-management such as weight control and physical activity; and

WHEREAS the Washington State Department of Health, with direction from an advisory group, developed a public health approach to preventing and managing arthritis titled Arthritis Action Plan For Washington State: 2001-2005; THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that the Washington State Public Health Association supports policy that addresses the public health impact of arthritis on Washington state residents; and