American College of Rheumatology extends Lupus Initiative

The American College of Rheumatology announced a $2 million, 1-year extension of its initiative to eliminate health disparities in lupus. The grant was given to them by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health in collaboration with the Office on Women’s Health and Office of the Surgeon General.

The grant will allow the program to continue to provide nationwide access to educational materials that improve the diagnosis and treatment of lupus.

“The success of the program to date is the result of collective input from many experts and organizations and we are thrilled that we can continue to collaborate to have a positive impact for those with lupus,” Sheryl McCalla, senior director of collaborative initiatives for the ACR, stated in a press release. “Many factors cause disparities in prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of lupus among ethnic groups, and some of those factors are within our control. This program is important because it offers broad, multidisciplinary approaches to close those gaps.”

The Lupus Initiative has developed free online materials to educate medical professionals about lupus. The materials are designed to teach health care providers to think about the ways provider/patient perspectives can affect diagnosis and care. The Initiative is focusing on the dissemination of these materials in the coming years.