The NFA produces informational materials, hosts patient and health care provider web sites, and publishes the magazine Fibromyalgia AWARE.

[1] First known as the National Fibromyalgia Awareness Campaign,[2] the NFA was founded as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 1997 in Orange, California, by Lynne Matallana[3][4][5] and Karen Lee Richards.

[10] Through 2006, the NFA hosted six international conferences, featuring authorities on fibromyalgia who presented their research and expertise to attendees, including patients and health care professionals.

[11] The NFA partnered with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Institute of Johns Hopkins Nursing in 2007, to form “The Fibromyalgia Circle of Care”, a collaboration that hold three annual initiatives[12] that work to assist healthcare providers in diagnosing fibromyalgia,[12] raising awareness of the condition,[13] and taking care of patients diagnosed with the illness.

They first met in 1997 through discussions in online fibromyalgia chat groups, and shared similar concerns over incorrect diagnoses as well as a lack of available information and patient support.