Expanding Lupus Awareness through Education

Since 2020, the ACR has received funding support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Developing and Disseminating Strategies to Build Sustainable Lupus Awareness, Knowledge, Skills, and Partnerships initiative (CDC-RFA-DP20-2008). This six-year cooperative agreement, which began Sept. 30, 2020, and continues through Sept. 29, 2026, provides more than $9.2 million in total funding (approximately $1.6 million annually) to strengthen lupus awareness and care nationwide.

Each subproject under this agreement aims to increase the awareness, knowledge and skills of healthcare providers—helping clinicians recognize lupus symptoms, initiate appropriate work ups and provide coordinated, culturally and linguistically responsive care.

“Every project within this initiative is designed to close the gap between symptom presentation and diagnosis,” says Starla Hairston, Blanks, MBA, MPH, senior director of collaborative initiatives at the ACR. “We’re seeking to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of front-line clinicians who see patients first with the information and confidence they need to act.”

Visit https://rheumatology.org/collaborative-initiatives for more information and educational materials.

ACR Fellows in Training Lead the Way

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Among the ACR’s most innovative efforts, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the Teaching Fellows in Lupus Project (TFLP), a program designed to increase the knowledge and confidence of nonrheumatology providers when suspecting lupus and making timely referrals.

Coordinated by the ACR’s Collabora­tive Initiatives Division (COIN), rheuma­tology fellows in training deliver lupus education sessions to physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in their local communities. Each fellow receives a standardized presentation developed by an ACR work group and facilitates one-hour sessions, either in person or virtually, that include pre- and post-tests to measure changes in knowledge and confidence.

Both pediatric and adult rheumatology fellowship programs are engaged in this effort, reaching primary care and community clinicians through partnerships with hospitals, health systems and medical networks.

“It’s an exciting model that strengthens both sides of the education equation,” says Noelle A. Rolle, MBBS, chair of the ACR Collaborative Initiatives Committee. “Fellows gain teaching and leadership experience, while local providers gain the awareness and skills needed to better recognize and refer lupus cases.”

Over the past two years, the Teaching Fellows in Lupus Project has educated more than 1,200 healthcare providers through 85+ sessions across the country.

“Fellows often share how impactful these sessions are not just for attendees, but for their own growth as rheumatologists and peer educators,” says Kate Chiseri, MPH, senior specialist, Collaborative Initiatives.