National Fibromyalgia Association
Encyclopedia
National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) is a United States nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 founded to support persons with fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is an example of a diagnosis of exclusion...

 (FM) and other chronic pain
Chronic pain
Chronic pain has several different meanings in medicine. Traditionally, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has relied upon an arbitrary interval of time from onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since the initiation of pain, though some theorists and...

 illness
Illness
Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...

es.

Mission

The National Fibromyalgia Association's mission is to help people affected by FM by organizing awareness events, media coverage, support and training for support group leaders across the United States. The NFA produces informational materials, hosts patient and health care provider web sites, and publishes the magazine Fibromyalgia AWARE.

Development

First known as the National Fibromyalgia Awareness Campaign, the NFA was founded as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 in 1997 in Orange, California
Orange, California
Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...

, by Lynne Matallana and Karen Lee Richards. Since then, the NFA has developed the educational website FMaware.org in 2002, founded the international magazine quarterly Fibromyalgia AWARE as the only consumer magazine on fibromyalgia published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and advocated the development of continuing medical educational programs.

Through 2006, the NFA hosted six international conferences, featuring authorities on fibromyalgia who presented their research and expertise to attendees, including patients and health care professionals. More than 1,000 people attended the 2006 FAME (Fibromyalgia Awareness Means Everything) conference.

The NFA partnered with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is the academic medical teaching and research arm of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins has consistently been the nation's number one medical school in the amount of competitive research grants awarded by the National...

 and the Institute of John Hopkins Nursing in 2007, to form “The Fibromyalgia Circle of Care”, a collaboration that hold three annual initiatives that work to assist healthcare providers in diagnosing fibromyalgia, raising awareness of the condition, and taking care of patients diagnosed with the illness.

The NFA has been covered by various media sources, including National Public Radio, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

, The Gazette
The Gazette
The Gazette is a title of several newspapers and magazines, including:-English-language newspapers:*London Gazette, the official publication of the government of the United Kingdom...

, and United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...

.

Founders

Co-founders Matallana and Richards have both been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. They first met in 1997 through discussions in online fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is an example of a diagnosis of exclusion...

 chat groups, and shared similar concerns over incorrect diagnoses as well as a lack of available information and patient support. Matallana had first experienced symptoms of pain and fatigue in 1993, and by 1997 had visited 37 doctors before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Richards said that she had become ill in 1989, but did not receive a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia until 1996. After the two met, they organized gatherings with other fibromyalgia patients who wanted to increase public awareness of the issue, initiating the National Fibromyalgia Awareness Campaign, which developed over the following five years to become the NFA. Matallana is past president of the NFA, having served through 2011 and is publisher and Editor-in-chief of Fibromyalgia AWARE magazine. Richards served as NFA's vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

from 1997 through 2006, and as executive editor of Fibromyalgia AWARE for four years after the magazine's 2002 launch.

External links

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