Case study: World Health Organization-International League of Associations for Rheumatology Community-Oriented Programme for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases (WHO-ILAR COPCORD) in Indonesia and Brazil.

The three-stage World Health Organization-International League of Associations for Rheumatology Community Oriented Programme for Control of Rheumatic Disease (WHO-ILAR COPCORD) is described. Stage I results from Indonesia and Brazil are presented. This is a needs-based approach that offers efficiency in large-scale survey research that aims to estimate the prevalence of rheumatic diseases. It saves human resources, time, and cost in the collection of epidemiologic data. Awaited with interest are the results of the next two stages of COPCORD, which involve the development of educational programs on rheumatic disease and the evaluation of their impact on the burden of illness.