Recorded presentation

James F. Jones, MD¹, K. Kimberly Kenney, BA², Terri Lupton, RN, BSS², and William C. Reeves, MD¹. (1) DVRD, VEHB, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Mail stop A15, Atlanta, GA 30333, 404-639-1412, jaj9@cdc.gov, (2) The CFIDS Association of America, Inc., 6827 Fairview Road, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28210

At least 800,000 adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Most are women, and racial/ethnic minorities appear disproportionately affected. Most patients have been ill for 5 to 7 years; a quarter are unemployed or receive disability and they lose approximately $20,000 annually in earnings/wages. Fewer than 20% of persons with CFS have received medical care for the illness. Early recognition and intervention should significantly diminish the burden of CFS on patients and society. Accordingly, CDC, HRSA, and The CFIDS Association of America collaborated to develop and execute education strategies concerning CFS diagnosis and management. We developed a CME approved curriculum for primary care providers, which is available in Web, print, video, and live presentation formats. Self-study formats were promoted in professional journals, medical web sites, and national medical conferences. We also conducted 2-day sessions to train peer educators in the delivery of the curriculum to colleagues. Several thousand individuals have completed the curriculum on diagnosis and management of CFS. Those trained as peer educators have been most intensively evaluated. They demonstrated 20% improvement in performance on 25 knowledge questions. Statistically significant (p <. 05) improvements were also recorded on the Attitudes-Opinion Survey. Outcome measures have been added to other program formats to assess their effectiveness. The collaborative effort reinforced shared objectives and led to fuller understanding of the impact of activities on provider, health-educator, and patient populations. This model is useful for other poorly understood health conditions of significant burden to the health care system and individual.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participantin will be able to

• Identify factors leading to the development of the public/private partnership.
• List the organizations involved.
• Describe the components of the collaborative project.
• Identify the target audience for project components.
• Articulate the fundamental goal of the project.

Keywords: Collaboration, Public/Private Partnerships

Related Web page: www.cfids.org/profresources/project-overview.asp

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation