AB1680-PARE PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT CENTER
Authors: C. Kyriakou Yiasoumi
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Our organization was founded in 1984, from few patients and a Rheumatologist, for the assertion of rights for people with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal diseases in our country. Today our organization has more than 5.500 members, 7 employees, 3 offices and a rehabilitation center. In our days the organization runs a variety of programs and services for the scope of its existence and one of the most important is the Support program under the Psychosocial Support Center for RMDs, which is one of the most important programs of the organization. The program is under the observe of the psychologist and the social worker of the organization. <h3>Objectives:</h3> Getting a diagnose with a chronic disease is a shock. It changes your life, it brings everything upside down and you have to learn how to leave with it. The Psychosocial Support Program has been established for this specific reason. The major objectives of the Psychosocial Support Program are the patients: to accept their disease in order to face there daily social problems, to support them on psychological aspects, to support their family environment, to exchange experience with other people with the same disease, to socialize, to implement and improve their life with new things like exercise, computer, dancing etc, to support them financially and to inform them and help them with government allowances. <h3>Methods:</h3> In order to be able to achieve all the objectives we have to work on two types of support: the personal and the group support. Both ways have lot of positive impact on the patient life and journey. Both programs show the individual positive approaches to evolve the patient's life for the better. At the same time each program gives different things to the patient which help him/her, to accept and understand the new situation in his/her life and move on with the new data. Among others the PERSONAL program includes personal sessions on organization's premises, call or zoom personal sessions, help line services and home visits. The GROUP SUPPORT program includes group programs with the use of the group power and socialization, some of them are Color therapy, Music therapy, Support groups, Chat groups, Two self-management programs, and the Special Groups of different diseases. A completely different program that we run are the VISITS at the day care centers in the hospitals and at the Rheumatologist Offices. Our Social worker is visiting the Rheumatological centers in the hospitals, where people with RMDs are taking their biological treatment or visiting one of the rheumatologists, and talk to them for any issues they face, or to inform newly diagnosis patients about our organization and the programs that offers. <h3>Results:</h3> The last 10 years an amazing job has been done and it is continuing. You can see below the results of this efforts on the numbers of the participants on each kind of session: Personal session by the PHYCOLOGIST 412 Financial support 145 Online support, information and training workshops (webinars) 4.000 Creative employment programs (painting, handicrafts, hagiographies, handmade creations) 720 Selfmanagment programme 350 Support groups (color therapy, music therapy, group therapy, Reading club) 550 The last 3 years: Personal support from the SOCIAL WORKER 280 The last year HELP LINE 4.080 Entertainment events 650 10 GROUPS OF DIFFERENT DISEASES: SEL 45, Bechet 23, Sjogren 14, Fibromyalgia 35, Psoriasis Arthritis 17, Scleroderma 46, AxSpa 103, Osteoarthritis 34, Parents and kids 21, Youth 21 members. VOLONTIERS PROGRAMME: 110 volunteers help/assistance (visits at home/hospital/rehabilitation center) 333 <h3>Conclusion:</h3> Psychosocial Support Centre has been established in our organisation for many years now. It is one of the most important jobs that our organisation has. Psychosocial support program gives to our members a way out of the difficult times and periods that are getting through. Without doubt the program has and continue to help and improve the lives of hundreds of patients with RMDs in our country but not only, as we share our experience and programs with other patient organizations globally. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] organizations' Psychologist Data. [2] organizations' Social Workers Data. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>