Our new report, Putting the Pieces Together in Drumchapel, demonstrates how tackling MSK conditions is about "more than just healthcare" and that support within and by communities is vital in improving the lives of Scots living with arthritis. In this sense, the community centre is as important as the health centre, the bus driver as the physiotherapist, and the community garden centre as the nearest hospital. In fact, those with arthritis are 20% less likely to be in work and around one in five people with arthritis experiences anxiety and depression. Our report highlights that "softer services", such as community and peer support groups, matter greatly, and that alternatives to formal care that support wellbeing are important in living well with arthritis. It’s a space where people can talk about arthritis in terms of who they are as people and not just patients.

Source: The Herald October 11, 2024 15:01 UTC