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Addressing the Healthcare and Wellness Needs of Women Living with Lupus

Home > Illnesses and Disabilities Home > Programs > Addressing the Healthcare and Wellness Needs of Women Living with Lupus

• About the Seminar
• Outcomes
• Background Information
• Agenda

A Call to Action:
Addressing the Healthcare and Wellness Needs of Women Living with Lupus:
Epidemiology, Treatment and Care, and the Call for a National Lupus Action Plan

For Presentation at the
Third National Leadership Summit
On Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health
A Blueprint for Change Conference

February 25, 2009
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

About the Seminar

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Women's Health, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Office on Minority Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration will sponsor a "call to action" seminar from 9:00 am- 12:00 noon on Wednesday, February 25, 2009.

This seminar will take place before the opening ceremony of the "Third National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, A Blueprint for Change" conference hosted by the Office on Minority Health at the Gaylord Conference Center in Oxon Hill, MD.

You must be registered for the "Third National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health: A Blueprint for Change" conference to attend the seminar. Register here.

This seminar, A Call to Action: Addressing the Healthcare and Wellness Needs of Women Living with Lupus: The Epidemiology, Treatment and Care, and the Call for a National Lupus Action Plan seminar will address the following issues:

1. The current state of Lupus and the lives of women living with Lupus;
2. A review of the current care and treatment of Lupus;
3. Strategies to increase awareness of Lupus with health care professionals;
4. Issues, challenges, and successes of advocacy groups in the area of Lupus awareness, funding, research, treatment, support, and ultimate cure of Lupus; and,
5. The leadership role HHS can provide for improved treatments, research, funding, and advocacy for the cure and awareness of Lupus.

At the close of the seminar we will be collecting recommendations for the Office on Women's Health Lupus Working Group as they develop a National Action Plan to address the issues addressed.

Agenda

• View the agenda ( PDF file, 57 Kb)

Outcomes

Learning Outcomes:

1. Participants will be able to identify the basic signs and symptoms of Lupus and will increase their knowledge base.
2. Community/Faith-based organizations will be able to apply the knowledge learned in the sessions to expand Lupus programs and services.
3. Participants will be able to ask the right questions of their providers to ensure that they are evaluated effectively if they suspect they might have Lupus.
4. Health care providers will be more aware of Lupus and more pro-active in testing for Lupus.
5. Public health officials and policy advisors will be more sensitive to the needs of Lupus patients.

Future Outcomes:

1. Publication of a Call to Action document based on participants recommendations.
2. National Action Plan to change the state of Lupus and improve the lives of the women living with Lupus.

Background Information

It is estimated that 1.5 - 2 million Americans have Lupus, but the actual number may be higher. More than 90 percent of persons with lupus are women. Symptoms and diagnosis occur most often when women are in their childbearing years, between the ages of 15 and 45. In the United States, Lupus is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans than in Caucasians¹. The Lupus Research Institute lists the following facts about gender and racial disparities in Lupus.

Lupus Facts

• Lupus targets women and minorities
• Lupus is estimated to affect 1 to 1.5 million Americans, 90 percent of whom are women
• African-American women are three times more likely to get Lupus than Caucasian women and to suffer worse symptoms. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as many as one in every 250 African-American women has Lupus.
• Latino, Asian, and Native American women have an increased incidence of Lupus; In fact, Lupus is twice as prevalent among Asian American and Latino women as it is among Caucasian women.

Additional Resources

• Lupus FAQ
• Office On Women's Health Lupus Education and Awareness Programs

¹ Lupus Research Institute

Content last updated January 9, 2009.