Women Empowered to Live With Lupus Study

The CDSMP is an evidence-based, community-based, generic self-management program that consists of 6 weekly classes of two and a half hours each one, for six weeks. CDSMP classes are facilitated by certified peer leaders. Because the CDSMP is widely disseminated and available to the adult U.S. population through community centers, it may be a suitable and accessible option for African Americans with SLE, even though it is not specifically tailored to SLE or to African Americans. As the CDSMP has been primarily evaluated in predominantly white middle-class seniors with more common diseases (e.g. osteoarthritis, diabetes), the effectiveness of the CDSMP in helping African American women to self-manage SLE is unknown. This study will examine the effectiveness of the CDSMP to improve patient-reported outcomes and reduce health care utilization in African American women with lupus. Using a two-group longitudinal cohort design with participants sampled from a parent population-based SLE cohort in Georgia, investigators will examine behaviors, health and healthcare outcomes, and the extent to which individual characteristics modify the effectiveness of the CDSMP. The Georgians Organized Against Lupus (GOAL), a longitudinal cohort of patients with a validated diagnosis of SLE, will be used to enroll participants into the intervention. A random sample of African American women with SLE selected from the parent GOAL cohort will be recruited into the WELL (Women Empowered to Live with Lupus) cohort. WELL participants will attend the CDSMP classes in the community, along with people with other chronic illnesses. WELL participants will be asked to attend the CDSMP in the community and answer questionnaires at 4 select time periods before and after the program. Investigators will follow participant's progress for up to 18 months after they attend the CDSMP. African American women from the GOAL cohort non-selected to be assigned to the intervention will comprise the usual care group. Participants will continue their longitudinal assessments as part of the GOAL cohort data collection efforts. Changes in outcomes for up to 18 months will be compared between WELL participants and the usual care group.