International Internet Study seeking participants

Participants are being sought to take part in a large-scale international internet questionnaire study about understanding and lack of understanding for rheumatic diseases, including Fibro.

Researchers at Universities in Utrecht (The Netherlands), Detroit (USA), Coïmbra (Portugal), Marburg (Germany), Ghent (Belgium), and Barcelona and Jaén (Spain) are collaborating on the study, which is funded by the Dutch Arthritis Association.

Patients with rheumatic diseases report that lack of understanding for their illness is an important issue in their lives. Researchers call this lack of understanding by others ‘invalidation’. The aim of this study is to examine how much understanding and invalidation by others is experienced by people who have a rheumatic disease. The researchers also want to examine the consequences of this understanding or invalidation and compare this between different countries.

Patients with any rheumatic disease can fill out a questionnaire on the internet in their own language, which will take approximately 20 minutes. Participation will be voluntary and anonymous

If you want more information or want to participate, please click on the following hyperlink: www.lackofunderstanding.nl.