Toll-free lines are available in most provinces to provide callers with assistance and contacts for local programs. In addition, The Arthritis Helpbook, which contains most of the program's educational content, can be purchased separately at bookstores across Canada or borrowed from the local public library. This kind of ideal accessibility points to the need for private and public financial assistance to ensure that useful programs remain accessible to all Canadians at reasonable costs. The program, which is held in weekly two-hour sessions over six weeks, is led by pairs of trained peer facilitators, most of whom have arthritis. Education, group support, problem solving and assistance in the development of a personal exercise and cognitive pain relief program are all important components of the program.
Participants become increasingly confident in their ability to self-manage.
This is empowering and it allows them to be less dependent on health care providers. One peer facilitator in Manitoba who has arthritis herself feels strongly that experiencing a disability is the only way one can totally understand and encourage others. Talking about these feelings with others helped me learn to manage my time and energy and to feel positive about the things I could accomplish. Dr. Bell believes that people who train to become leaders in ASMP obtain extra benefits by helping others. Taking on a leadership role and sharing their experience with others gives them something back.