NARCOMS Now Magazine Wins 2013 MarCom Gold Award

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Dec. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- NARCOMS Now (http://www.narcoms.org/narcomsnow) magazine—the official quarterly publication of the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) (http://www.narcoms.org)—has been awarded a 2013 MarCom Award (http://marcomawards.com/) in the Gold Category. NARCOMS is a long-term research program of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (http://www.mscare.org/) (CMSC), (www.mscare.org) a nonprofit professional organization for clinics and clinicians involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) research.

         NARCOMS Now is published quarterly and distributed via mail to participants in the NARCOMS registry, a global database designed to expedite and promote MS research, treatment, and patient education. The magazine is designed as a way to communicate to NARCOMS registry participants how the data they provide in twice-annual NARCOMS research surveys is used to further MS research, plus the latest MS-related news and research updates from around the world. The NARCOMS Now website can be found at: http://www.narcoms.org/narcomsnow.

         “NARCOMS Now provides a valuable means of communication with our participants, without whom our research efforts would not be possible,” says Robert Fox, Managing Director, NARCOMS. “We are very proud to have won the MarCom Gold Award recognizing the magazine for the high standards we have held ourselves to in creating a piece that speaks to our Registry participants on how the information they provide facilitates MS research.”

NARCOMS Now won in the category of “Magazine at an Educational Institution.” The NARCOMS Registry Data Coordinating Center is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (http://www.uab.edu). The MarCom is a creative competition for any individual or company involved in the concept, writing, and design of print, visual, audio, and web materials and programs. The mission of the MarCom Awards is to honor excellence and recognize the creativity, hard work, and generosity of marketing and communication professionals. There were more than 6,500 entries from throughout the US and Canada, plus a few other international entries. According to the group, “The Gold Award is presented to those entries judged to exceed the high standards of the industry norm."

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About NARCOMS

By maintaining an active and growing registry database, the NARCOMS program allows people with Multiple Sclerosis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis) (ages 18 and up) to expedite Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research by voluntarily submitting information about their personal experience with MS. All information provided is held confidential and used in de-identified form, only for research purposes. The core part of the database consists of cross-sectional and longitudinal self-report data on demographic and socioeconomic variables, disease characteristics, treatment and disability status, healthcare utilization, symptom progression and other patient reported outcomes (PRO), including health related quality of life (HRQoL) measures. All research activities are conducted under the oversight of the Institutional review board (IRB) at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

The registry has enrolled over 37,000 participants since 1996. Participation is voluntary and free of charge. All participants are asked to complete an update survey twice a year (in spring and in fall), by mail or online. The surveys are currently available in English and in Spanish. Since 2008 the NARCOMS registry has operated under the broader title of Global MS Patient registry and attracted participants from over 50 different countries. For more information on NARCOMS, call toll-free: 1-800-253-7884 or email: MSregistry@narcoms.org. (mailto:MSregistry@narcoms.org)

About CMSC

CMSC, the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, is the leading educational, training, and networking organization for MS health-care professionals and researchers.  The CMSC’s mission is to promote quality MS care through educational programming and accreditation including live and online events, research grants, technical journals and papers, and targeted advocacy efforts.   The CMSC member network includes more than 7,000 international health-care clinicians and scientists committed to MS care as well as more than 60 Veterans Administration MS Programs and 225 MS Centers in the US, Canada, and Europe.   For more information, visit www.mscare.org.   Follow CMSC at @mscare