When someone is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis it can feel like their world has been ripped out from underneath them; what we often fail to recognise is that those close to them, feel the very same. Support is available for those living with the disease, but there aren’t many options on where to turn for their family members, who also face an impact on their lives from the disease and may need support and information to help them adjust.

Our 2012 survey, ‘Family Matters’, found that family members want more support and relevant information to be available to them, particularly during the early stages of a family member’s diagnosis. We want to develop our website, our social media portfolio and freephone helpline to support and inform family members through the diagnosis period and onto the impacts wider RA can have on finances, domestic life, social life, relationships and wellbeing.