title: Education for patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Latin America and the Caribbean.
abstract: Patient education is highly recommended in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to support patient management. The challenge is to adhere to the recommendations for providing health education to RA patients in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries taking into account factors such as patient health illiteracy, lack of rheumatologists, and lack of resources including access to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). As existing educational material in regional languages is not readily available and inadequate, we propose developing a web-based educational program that would fulfill the requirements of most patients with RA across LAC countries with an emphasis on the correct and safe use of methotrexate.
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Reumatología, Department of Medicine FCS, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic.
authors.forename: Vianna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Cuenca State University, Cuenca, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kourilovitch
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. lmassardov@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Loreto
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Massardo
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017691:Caribbean Region; D019468:Disease Management; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007843:Latin America; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D008727:Methotrexate
keywords: Latin America; Patient education; Rheumatoid arthritis