A World of Difference: Updates from the Global Rheumatology Summit

PHILADELPHIA—Rheumatology is a field that touches patients around the world and benefits from collaboration between clinicians and researchers from many different countries. With this in mind, ACR Convergence 2022 served as the site for the second annual Global Rheumatology Summit.

It has been two years since the initiation of the global rheumatology initiative, which seeks to encourage an international exchange of ideas and dialogue on many subjects that are relevant to this field of medicine. Advocacy has been key for advancing rheumatology care and research, and, indeed, the subject of global health is now a part of the new ACR strategic plan.

Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine (rheumatology), chief of rheumatology, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, and program director, China Medical Board [CMB] Global Health Leadership Development Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., serves as the chair of the ACR Global Engagement Committee. In this capacity, Dr. Hsieh was the lead and moderator for this year’s Global Rheumatology Summit.

The summit of the prior year was focused on health equity, and this year’s summit largely focused on climate change, conflict and migration, all of which have a large role on healthcare systems and delivery. In addition, sessions were also convened on complicated cases of idiopathic inflammatory myositis, bridging gaps in global access to rheumatology care, mentoring models and the shortage of pediatric rheumatologists, among others.

Climate Change, Conflict & Migration

The first speaker in the summit was Michael Taylor, PhD, professor, Department of Physics, deputy dean, Faculty of Science and Technology, and director, Climate Studies Group, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Dr. Taylor’s talk was on the subject of climate science implications for the healthcare sector. He noted that when he speaks at conferences one of his main goals is to convey the perspective of the Caribbean region and to represent what climate change means for this part of the world.

He noted that large segments of the population in the Caribbean are on small, isolated, exposed lands and are quite vulnerable to climate effects. More broadly speaking, Dr. Taylor explained that climate change can impact the health of individuals in many ways, including via injuries, forced migration, malnutrition, infectious diseases and water quality, to name a few.

In addressing what climate change means for the world, he stated that the main trends are that: 1) average temperatures are increasing; 2) sea levels are rising; 3) the climate is more extreme than in past years; and 4) rainfall is more variable. For developing countries, these changes have a major impact on agriculture and potable water supplies.