The scientific basis for describing and ameliorating the burdens associated with rheumatic diseases has been rapidly expanding, with contributions from several disciplines, including but not limited to rheumatology, epidemiology, economics, social and behavioral science, and health policy. The proposed conference is designed to review the state-of-the-art in this field, from developments in the measurement of the burdens to new efforts to reduce those burdens. The proposed conference would have three related aims: 1) to review methodological developments in the disciplines describing the burdens of arthritis; 2) to provide contemporary estimates of the economic, social, and psychological burdens associated with the rheumatic diseases; and 3) to summarize the emerging literature on interventions that reduce those burdens. The conference will develop an agenda for research and policy related to those aims. The target audience for the conference would include clinician-investigators and other researchers in rheumatology, health economics, health psychology, medical sociology, medical anthropology, health services research, and epidemiology; advocates for persons with arthritis and for arthritis research funding; and policymakers concerned with the burden associated with arthritis as well as the effectiveness of treatments to reduce the burden. The conference will be one day in duration and will take place the day preceding the formal opening of the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
