885 z SPECIAL ARTICLE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MANAGEMENT OF ARTHRITIS DISABILITY Blueprints from an NIDRR-Sponsored Conference JERRY C. PARKER, LAURENCE A. BRADLEY, ROBERT M. DEVELLIS, LYNN H. GERBER, HALSTED R. HOLMAN, FRANCIS J. KEEFE, TOBY S. LAWRENCE, MATTHEW H. LIANG, KATE R. LORIG, PERRY M. NICASSIO, TRACEY A. REVENSON, MALCOLM P. ROGERS, KENNETH A. WALLSTON, MARCUS G. WILSON, and FREDERICK WOLFE A national conference, Biopsychosocial Contri- butions to the Management of Arthritis Disability, was Supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabili- tation Services, US Department of Education (Innovation grant H 133COO67); the Aspirin Foundation of America; the Eastern Mis- zyxwvu souri Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation; the Harry zyxwvutsr S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital; and the University of Missouri- Columbia School of Medicine. The following individuals served as members of the confer- ence planning committee and/or were facilitators for the conference discussions: Jerry C. Parker, PhD: University of Missouri- Columbia; Laurence A. Bradley, PhD: The University of Alabama at Birmingham; Robert M. DeVellis, PhD: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Lynn H. Gerber, MD: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Halsted R. Holman, MD: Stanford Univer- sity, Palo Alto, CA; Francis J. Keefe, PhD: Duke University, Durham, NC; Toby S. Lawrence, RPT: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Matthew H. Liang, MD, MPH: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA; Kate R. Lorig, DrPH: Stanford University; Perry M. Nicassio, PhD: California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego; Tracey A. Reven- son, PhD: City University, New York, NY; Malcolm P. Rogers, MD: Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Kenneth A. Wallston, PhD: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; Marcus G. Wilson, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Frederick Wolfe, MD: Wichita Arthritis Center, Wichita, KS. Additional participants were as follows: Glenn G. M e c k , PhD; Graciela S. Alarch, MD, MPH; Susan P. Buckelew, PhD; James T. Cassidy, MD; Lawren H. Daltroy, DrPH; Brenda M. DeVellis, PhD; Robert G. Frank, PhD; Julia B. Freeman, PhD; Jean Goeppinger, PhD; Kristofer J. Hagglund, PhD; Kathleen M. Haral- son, PT; Donna J. Hawley, RN, EdD; Robert M. Kaplan, PhD; Marianne Kaple, MEd; Donald R. Kay, MD; Mary D. Lucas, PhD; Sharon L. Manne, PhD; Steven A. Mazzuca, PhD; Marian A. Minor, PT, PhD; Harvey Moldofsky, MD; Stanton P. Newman, PhD; James L. Ronald, zyxwvutsr MS; Gordon C. Sharp, MD; Craig A. Smith, PhD; Timothy W. Smith, PhD; Lavona L. Virgen, MEd; Patrick D. Wall, MD; Edward H. Yelin, PhD; Alex J. Zautra, PhD. Address reprint requests to Jerry C. Parker, PhD, Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, 800 Hospital Drive, Colum- bia, MO 65201. Submitted for publication March 6, 1992; accepted in re- vised form January 29, 1993. held in St. Louis on July 20-22, 1991. The conference was sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), Office of Spe- cial Education and Rehabilitation Services, US De- partment of Education. Forty-four experts in the area of biopsychosocial aspects of arthritis were convened to participate. The purposes of the conference were as fol- lows: 1) to review and synthesize the scientific litera- ture on biopsychosocial aspects of arthritis disability, 2) to establish a research agenda to guide the scientific efforts of the research community and funding agen- cies, 3) to stimulate clinical applications of biopsycho- social strategies for the management of arthritis dis- ability, and 4) to disseminate state-of-the-art scientific information to practitioners and the lay public. To meet these objectives, 9 scientific papers on biopsychosocial aspects of arthritis were prepared in advance. During the conference, subgroups of 12-15 participants met for extended periods to discuss each of the 9 papers from the following standpoints: 1) future research directions, 2) professional education, and 3) public information. zyxw Biopsychosocial model in arthritis In 1976 the National Arthritis Act, which estab- lished funds for Multipurpose Arthritis Centers (MACs), was passed into public law. In addition to traditional biomedical research, MACs were required to have community, educational, and health services research programs. Funding through MACs and NIDRR-sponsored Rehabilitation Research and Train- ing Centers (RRTCs) produced a sharp upturn in the number of investigators working outside the disci- Arthritis and Rheumatism, Vol. 36, No. 7 (July 1993)