Research summary
People who suffer from inflammatory arthritis need better access to appropriate and timely care in community-based clinics and centres. Otherwise, when they experience complications, they will head to the nearest emergency department—but hospitals are not the most efficient setting for treating arthritis complications.
As Canada Research Chair in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Autoimmune Diseases, Dr. Cheryl Barnabe is exploring how patients with inflammatory arthritis use acute care services, like hospitals, and how this could be avoided if appropriate care was easier to access on an outpatient basis. She and her research team are focusing on groups of patients who face health inequities, including Indigenous populations, and seeking to understand and address the social factors that lead them to use acute care settings. Ultimately, this research may lead to more patient-oriented approaches to care and more sustainable health systems overall.