Apni Jung Apni Jung (translated means ‘Our Fight’ in Hindi) is an NRAS initiative that aims to support people with RA from the UK South Asian communities by providing accessible educational resources, mostly in video or podcast format, and in different languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, to enable better understanding about rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and how to live with and self-manage their disease well between consultations with their rheumatology team. Important Note: If you need to convert any of the English text in this section of the website to one of the following 5 South Asian languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujurati, you can do this by clicking on the English flag at the bottom right hand side of the screen and selecting the language desired.NRAS intend to develop other videos relevant to people from our UK South Asian communities in other South Asian languages (than Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu) in due course. What is Apni Jung? Apni Jung translates to ‘Our Fight’ in Hindi, against rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Since 2016 when we first launched our Apni Jung service at the British Society for Rheumatology congress in April of that year, together with our Health Professional Medical Advisor in this field, Dr Kanta Kumar, (Associate Professor at The University of Birmingham), NRAS has been gradually increasing our services and support for the UK South Asian population. One of our long-term strategic aims is to make our services more visible, relevant and accessible to those who need us most, particularly those communities who, for reasons of language, culture and/or health literacy skills may be less able to negotiate about their healthcare needs or successfully navigate the health system in line with their individual needs. Find out more A real challenge for health professionals treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from minority backgrounds is finding a way to help those who don’t speak English as a first language and who may even have low literacy skills in terms of written materials in their own language, to get access to high quality educational materials on their condition. This Apni Jung web area has culturally relevant information about RA, its impact and its treatment in a combination of Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. We hope to offer further South Asian languages over time and as funding permits. This web area also includes video clips of Asian patients talking about their experiences which we hope will help others to feel supported and less isolated. NRAS knows from the extensive experience of running peer to peer support programmes just how beneficial this kind of peer support can be. We hope that all rheumatology health professionals treating people with RA from the South Asian communities in the UK will sign-post their patients to this website. We have a wonderful and supportive Global Majorities Advisory Board who help and guide our work in this area. For further information, please contact us at apnijung@nras.org.uk. Also we are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers from South Asian communities across the UK with RA, especially those who may speak one or more South Asian languages. If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities with NRAS, please contact enquiries@nras.org.uk What is RA? Watch a video, by Professor James Galloway of King’s College in London which has been dubbed into Hindi, on what being diagnosed with RA means and how it can be treated as someone newly diagnosed with RA. Watch now Hear from others → Joti’s Story (Punjabi) Farzana’s Story (Urdu) Rupi’s Story (English) Mrs Verma’s Story (Punjabi) Homaira’ Story (Urdu) Click to close video modal Close Early Inflammatory Arthritis Journey Find information about the early inflammatory arthritis journey, from diagnosis to getting started on treatment and information on a typical rheumatology team that you may encounter during your diagnosis. Watch now Moving on to Biologics We’ve made a short video which explains RA treatments in Hindi. Watch now Cardiovascular Disease and RA People with RA, including South Asians, have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) while living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and RA increases the risk of premature atherosclerosis. Learn more The Importance of Exercise Exercise is very important and benefits your RA There is a lot of research evidence to show that exercise and being physically active is really beneficial for people with RA. Get moving now! Engaging with local communities Often the best way to connect with people from different South Asian populations across the UK is to support and attend community events, particularly those which focus on health. NRAS and the members of its Global Majorities Advisory Board (Apni Jung) do this when opportinities arise and our resources are available. These events are also an opportunity to raise awareness of NRAS and our Apni Jung resources. Below are some photos of events attended and supported by our Advisory Board and NRAS staff where we are able to engage direct with people and health professionals from the local area concerned: Click to view fullscreen Primary and Secondary Care team Left: Dr Kanta Kumar Community Partners Click to close video modal Close Primary and Secondary Care team Left: Dr Kanta Kumar Community Partners Research in this area Our chief collaborator in this area of NRAS work is Dr. Kanta Kumar at the University of Birmingham and other interdisciplinary teams from various rheumatology departments, Primary Care and academic institutions. Find out more Special Festivals Read our special blog post on how to navigate Ramadan while living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, expertly written by Dr Shirish Dubey & Hifsa Mahmood. Read more Our Global Majority Advisory Board Our e-learning programme which is modular and all video based, so easy to register for (free) and to navigate, may be helpful to South Asian people with RA who can speak a little English and who may wish to watch it with a family relation or friend Find out more SMILE-RA Our e-learning programme which is modular and all video based, so easy to register for (free) and to navigate, may be helpful to South Asian people with RA who can speak a little English and who may wish to watch it with a family relation or friend Sign-up to SMILE Helpline Being diagnosed with and living with RA can be make you feel alone and confused. The NRAS Helpline is here for you, Mon-Fri from 9:30am to 4:30pm. Call us on 0800 298 7650. You can also contact us by email by filling out our contact form. Contact us For Health Professionals who have South Asian patients You can order quantities of patient leaflets and posters which can be given to patients and displayed in clinic settings from NRAS by emailing reception@nras.org.uk A training programme for Enhancing Clinician Cultural Competence to Improve Patient Outcomes in Rheumatology and Beyond Among Minority Ethnic Populations A culturally sensitive training programme (launched in early 2024) for clinicians has demonstrated potential in enhancing cultural competency, patient enablement, and fostering improved shared decision-making with minority ethnic patients living with auto-immune rheumatic diseases. To find out more and access the free training click below. Find out more A programme of work designed by University of Birmingham researchers has been promoted, by the British Society for Rheumatology (and NRAS). Results of the study were recently published and can be seen here: https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/advance-article/doi/10.1093/rheumatology/kead383/7233067?utm_source=authortollfreelink&utm_campaign=rheumatology&utm_medium=email&guestAccessKey=9af6c87b-4208-4ec2-b47f-c88d2aca7c32 Rheumatology researchers identified communication gaps between healthcare providers and patients from different cultural backgrounds, hindering quality care. Research led by Dr. Kanta Kumar, University of Birmingham and teams, developed a 90-minute training programme by using a before and after design research. The team tested the training programme by offering the training to fifteen clinicians across the rheumatology centres in England and collected data from on 364 patients. The results showed overall improvement in implementing cultural concepts during the consultation, and patient enablement with a significant boost in ratings from South Asian patients. Encouraged by these findings, the cultural competency programme will be offered to new and early-career rheumatology staff. Dr. Kumar and team have emphasised the urgency of reducing healthcare disparities, highlighting the programme’s potential to be adopted by professionals in various policy makers and specialties. If you are serving a diverse ethnic population then get involved in bridging health disparities, The intervention programme is now freely available to members of the British Society for Rheumatology. And you can undertake the training here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfUcs_A2Tr1gqmRnqc-xeH4XcT_OOjEQD NRAS in 2024 0 Helpline enquiries 0 Publications sent out 0 People reached
What is Apni Jung? Apni Jung translates to ‘Our Fight’ in Hindi, against rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Since 2016 when we first launched our Apni Jung service at the British Society for Rheumatology congress in April of that year, together with our Health Professional Medical Advisor in this field, Dr Kanta Kumar, (Associate Professor at The University of Birmingham), NRAS has been gradually increasing our services and support for the UK South Asian population. One of our long-term strategic aims is to make our services more visible, relevant and accessible to those who need us most, particularly those communities who, for reasons of language, culture and/or health literacy skills may be less able to negotiate about their healthcare needs or successfully navigate the health system in line with their individual needs.
Find out more A real challenge for health professionals treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from minority backgrounds is finding a way to help those who don’t speak English as a first language and who may even have low literacy skills in terms of written materials in their own language, to get access to high quality educational materials on their condition. This Apni Jung web area has culturally relevant information about RA, its impact and its treatment in a combination of Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. We hope to offer further South Asian languages over time and as funding permits. This web area also includes video clips of Asian patients talking about their experiences which we hope will help others to feel supported and less isolated. NRAS knows from the extensive experience of running peer to peer support programmes just how beneficial this kind of peer support can be. We hope that all rheumatology health professionals treating people with RA from the South Asian communities in the UK will sign-post their patients to this website. We have a wonderful and supportive Global Majorities Advisory Board who help and guide our work in this area. For further information, please contact us at apnijung@nras.org.uk. Also we are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers from South Asian communities across the UK with RA, especially those who may speak one or more South Asian languages. If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities with NRAS, please contact enquiries@nras.org.uk
What is RA? Watch a video, by Professor James Galloway of King’s College in London which has been dubbed into Hindi, on what being diagnosed with RA means and how it can be treated as someone newly diagnosed with RA. Watch now
Hear from others → Joti’s Story (Punjabi) Farzana’s Story (Urdu) Rupi’s Story (English) Mrs Verma’s Story (Punjabi) Homaira’ Story (Urdu)
Early Inflammatory Arthritis Journey Find information about the early inflammatory arthritis journey, from diagnosis to getting started on treatment and information on a typical rheumatology team that you may encounter during your diagnosis. Watch now
Cardiovascular Disease and RA People with RA, including South Asians, have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) while living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and RA increases the risk of premature atherosclerosis. Learn more
The Importance of Exercise Exercise is very important and benefits your RA There is a lot of research evidence to show that exercise and being physically active is really beneficial for people with RA. Get moving now!
Click to view fullscreen Primary and Secondary Care team Left: Dr Kanta Kumar Community Partners Click to close video modal Close Primary and Secondary Care team Left: Dr Kanta Kumar Community Partners
Research in this area Our chief collaborator in this area of NRAS work is Dr. Kanta Kumar at the University of Birmingham and other interdisciplinary teams from various rheumatology departments, Primary Care and academic institutions. Find out more
Special Festivals Read our special blog post on how to navigate Ramadan while living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, expertly written by Dr Shirish Dubey & Hifsa Mahmood. Read more
Our Global Majority Advisory Board Our e-learning programme which is modular and all video based, so easy to register for (free) and to navigate, may be helpful to South Asian people with RA who can speak a little English and who may wish to watch it with a family relation or friend Find out more
SMILE-RA Our e-learning programme which is modular and all video based, so easy to register for (free) and to navigate, may be helpful to South Asian people with RA who can speak a little English and who may wish to watch it with a family relation or friend Sign-up to SMILE
Helpline Being diagnosed with and living with RA can be make you feel alone and confused. The NRAS Helpline is here for you, Mon-Fri from 9:30am to 4:30pm. Call us on 0800 298 7650. You can also contact us by email by filling out our contact form. Contact us
For Health Professionals who have South Asian patients You can order quantities of patient leaflets and posters which can be given to patients and displayed in clinic settings from NRAS by emailing reception@nras.org.uk A training programme for Enhancing Clinician Cultural Competence to Improve Patient Outcomes in Rheumatology and Beyond Among Minority Ethnic Populations A culturally sensitive training programme (launched in early 2024) for clinicians has demonstrated potential in enhancing cultural competency, patient enablement, and fostering improved shared decision-making with minority ethnic patients living with auto-immune rheumatic diseases. To find out more and access the free training click below.
Find out more A programme of work designed by University of Birmingham researchers has been promoted, by the British Society for Rheumatology (and NRAS). Results of the study were recently published and can be seen here: https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/advance-article/doi/10.1093/rheumatology/kead383/7233067?utm_source=authortollfreelink&utm_campaign=rheumatology&utm_medium=email&guestAccessKey=9af6c87b-4208-4ec2-b47f-c88d2aca7c32 Rheumatology researchers identified communication gaps between healthcare providers and patients from different cultural backgrounds, hindering quality care. Research led by Dr. Kanta Kumar, University of Birmingham and teams, developed a 90-minute training programme by using a before and after design research. The team tested the training programme by offering the training to fifteen clinicians across the rheumatology centres in England and collected data from on 364 patients. The results showed overall improvement in implementing cultural concepts during the consultation, and patient enablement with a significant boost in ratings from South Asian patients. Encouraged by these findings, the cultural competency programme will be offered to new and early-career rheumatology staff. Dr. Kumar and team have emphasised the urgency of reducing healthcare disparities, highlighting the programme’s potential to be adopted by professionals in various policy makers and specialties. If you are serving a diverse ethnic population then get involved in bridging health disparities, The intervention programme is now freely available to members of the British Society for Rheumatology. And you can undertake the training here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfUcs_A2Tr1gqmRnqc-xeH4XcT_OOjEQD