Balancing Lupus Experiences With Stress Strategies

An Intervention to Reduce Psychosocial and Biological Indicators of Stress in African American Lupus Patients: The Balancing Lupus Experiences With Stress Strategies (BLESS) Study

Linking a psychosocial stress intervention with clinical measures of stress in African American lupus patients will assess the utility of this method in reducing perceived stress, and provide the necessary preliminary steps toward future investigations of potential mechanisms.

To begin to fill this research void, a stress intervention will be piloted and both biological specimens and questionnaire responses collected to assess changes in stress state following the intervention in patients who participated in the intervention compared to those who did not participate in the intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years of age or older
• African American
• Diagnosis of Lupus

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous participation in a disease self management program