The National Psoriasis Foundation www.psoriasis.org is the United States’ leading patient-driven, nonprofit advocacy organization that serves the estimated 7.5 million Americans affected by psoriasis

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...

 and psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is a type of inflammatory arthritis that, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, will develop in up to 30 percent of people who have the chronic skin condition psoriasis...

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Originally founded in 1967 as the Psoriasis Society of Oregon by Beverly Foster, a Portland, Ore., resident who suffered from severe psoriasis, the National Psoriasis Foundation changed its name and received its charter in October 1968.

Today, members, staff and volunteers carry out the National Psoriasis Foundation’s mission: To find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and to eliminate their devastating effects through research, advocacy and education.

The organization focuses on three areas: advocacy

Advocacy

Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

, education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 and research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

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Advocacy

The Psoriasis Foundation’s advocacy department works to educate legislators, lobby for increased psoriasis research federal investment, and expand and improve private and public insurance coverage for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Education

The National Psoriasis Foundation offers numerous ways information about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis can be obtained, including informational materials, an award-winning Web site, community education meetings, messages boards, affiliated support groups, and access to health educators through e-mail and a toll-free phone number.

Research

The National Psoriasis Foundation partners with medical and scientific communities to support research toward new psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treatments. Since 1975, the Psoriasis Foundation has awarded nearly $5 million in grants supporting promising psoriasis research programs.
The National Psoriasis Foundation also conducts patient surveys to illustrate the impact psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis has on a person’s daily life. This information is used to educate a variety of audiences, including medical professionals, legislators, insurers, media and the public.

Funding

Psoriasis Foundation programs are sustained through the support of psoriasis patients, their families, friends and medical providers. Corporations and foundations also fund the education, advocacy and research programs which help provide the information and tools people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis need.

Headquarters

The National Psoriasis Foundation is headquartered and has its only office in Portland, Ore.