German Rheumatism League
| German Rheumatism League | |
|---|---|
|
|
| legal form | registered association |
| purpose | Self-help organization |
| Seat | Bonn |
| founding | 1970
|
| President | Rotraut Schmale-Grede |
| Members | approx. 300,000 |
| Website | http://www.rheuma-liga.de/ |
The German Rheuma League is Germany's largest self-help organization in the health sector.
history
National and international specialist medical cooperation
In order to better research rheumatic diseases and to exchange their findings, the German doctor Eduard Dietrich - from 1909 Managing Director of the German Association for Cripple Care and also very active in the balneological field - founded together with Jan van Breemen and Robert Fortescue Fox in 1926 in Bad Pieš, Slovakia (Pistyan) the International Rheumatism League (later ILAR) and became chairman of the German section of the International Committee for Research and Control of Rheumatism , newly founded on January 27, 1927 , from which the German Society for the Control of Rheumatism emerged shortly afterwards . Because of the decreed “ Führer principle ” he had to resign from his offices in 1933, and during the Second World War the work of the rheumatologist association came to a complete standstill. In the young FRG, the German Society for Rheumatology eV (DGRh) was finally re-established . The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) was established in North America in 1934 , the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR) was established in 1943 , the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) in Sydney in 1963 and the African League in Algiers in 1989 of Associations for Rheumatology (AFLAR). In the interests of over 100 million rheumatism sufferers in Europe, the EULAR ( European League against Rheumatism ) was founded in September 1947 . The activities of these regional umbrella organizations are coordinated by the International League against Rheumatism (ILAR) in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Involving patients
The realization prevailed that purely medical care for those affected is not enough. The joint "fight" against rheumatic diseases by doctors and those affected in a "league" first manifested itself in Switzerland (1958), the Netherlands and Scandinavia. These national patient associations were associated with the EULAR, which was originally only an umbrella organization for rheumatologists, but then opened up to associations for those affected from 1973. Today, the EULAR with the Standing Committee of People with Arthritis / Rheumatism in Europe (PARE) includes all national leagues in Europe and also cooperates within the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) with the same organizations. 1977 saw the first “World Rheumatism Year”, announced by the international rheumatism league and supported by the World Health Organization . This resulted in World Rheumatism Day , which is celebrated on October 12th every year and is used by doctors and patients' associations for awareness-raising campaigns.
Patient self-help in Germany
Following these models, over 40 years ago, some members of the DGRh found the time was ripe to found a corresponding patient association in Germany as well. At that time the supply was still very poor. On December 7, 1970, the German Rheuma League eV was born as the first aid and self-help community for people with rheumatism in the FRG, from which independent regional associations were soon founded in all of the federal states at that time - and after reunification also very quickly in the new ones Federal states .
It is characteristic of a self-help community that help and support are not only given to those affected by a central regional office. Rather, the patients should be given the opportunity to exchange ideas and organize therapy options on site. That is why local groups were founded under the regional associations. a. who can provide direct counseling work and offer special functional training as therapy for all types of rheumatism. More than 400 different clinical pictures are known. The German Rheuma League therefore helps those affected individually.
In addition to the Rheumatism League, various self-help organizations with special goals were formed in the FRG. In 1981, the German Association of Bechterew's Disease e. V. and the Lupus Erythematodes Selbsthilfegemeinschaft e. V. and in 1989 the scleroderma self-help eV affiliated to the German Rheuma League Federal Association eV as member associations.
tasks
The main tasks of the association are:
- Offers of help and self-help for those affected by rheumatic diseases and their relatives
- educating the public
- Representing the interests of rheumatism sufferers vis-à-vis politics, health care and the public
- the promotion of research.
structure
The federal association brings together 16 regional associations and 3 other nationwide member associations. The regional associations supervise and lead the local working groups (AG) for those affected by rheumatism. The state and member associations of the German Rheumatism League support those affected with numerous offers: exercise therapy, occupational therapy treatment, pain management courses, social law advice, care for the severely affected, discussion groups, meetings with young rheumatics and various leisure activities. High-ranking representatives of the state associations of the statutory health insurance funds and other payers as well as representatives of affected groups often sit on the boards of the regional associations. The work of the association is carried out, among other things, by many thousands of people who do voluntary work. The association's "ambassadors" are TV presenter Jörg Pilawa and Olympic champion Heike Drechsler .
Regional associations
- Rheuma-Liga Baden-Württemberg e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Landesverband Bayern eV V.
- German Rheuma League Berlin e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Landesverband Brandenburg e. V.
- Rheuma-Liga Bremen e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Landesverband Hamburg e. V.
- Rheuma-Liga Hessen e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e. V.
- Rheuma-Liga Niedersachsen e. V.
- German Rheuma League North Rhine-Westphalia e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Landesverband Rheinland-Pfalz e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Saar e. V.
- Rheuma-Liga Sachsen e. V.
- German Rheumatism League State Association Saxony-Anhalt e. V.
- German Rheumatism League Schleswig-Holstein e. V.
- German Rheuma-Liga Landesverband Thüringen e. V.
Member associations
The following organizations are affiliated with the Rheuma-Liga-Bundesverband:
- German Association of Bechterew's Disease e. V.
- Lupus Erythematosus Self-Help Association e. V.
- Scleroderma self-help e. V.
financing
The federal association's income in 2018 was around 3.12 million euros. 60 percent of this consisted of membership fees. 861,600 euros were public funds. The total amount of subsidies, donations and sponsorship from companies was 195,000 euros in 2018, which is less than seven percent of the total budget. The association attaches great importance to being independent of the economic interests of companies. She is a signatory of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative .
On the expenditure side, almost half of the funds flow into the association's information work (as of 2018). 715,800 euros were paid to the regional and member associations or made available for the member service.