Pack Health and its study collaborators from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) presented findings at the 92nd Annual Georgia Public Health Association Annual Conference and Meeting from May 4-6, 2022. The study, entitled “Evaluating Feasibility of Patient-Reported Outcomes from a Digital Health Coaching Program for Individuals with Lupus,” was developed to investigate the feasibility of digital health coaching (DHC) as a method to support Black and Latina women who are diagnosed with lupus manage their disease and improve their health-related quality of life.  

Although lupus affects between 100,000 and 500,000 Americans, the condition disproportionately affects the health and well-being of Black and Latina women more than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Even though recent research reflects the success of evidence-based self-management programs in helping individuals with lupus to manage their conditions, these types of programs remain limited in scope. 

To evaluate the feasibility of the DHC intervention, a cohort of 15 female participants diagnosed with lupus were recruited from ACR partner sites across the country. These participants received access to 12 weeks of personalized digital health coaching with a Health Advisor from Pack Health. The participants and their Health Advisors communicated weekly via text, email, or phone, discussing various topics related to the management of their condition, such as physical activity and medication management. Participant data was collected at baseline and at the end of the 12 weeks, measuring cultural relevance, health-related quality of life changes, and physical activity improvements. 

Results show that the digital health coaching intervention can help support Black and Latina women with lupus while managing their conditions. All 15 participants completed the intervention, exceeding the proposed 70% program completion rate. These promising results will also help inform a future randomized attention-control study with 200 participants. 

Jasmine Moore, PharmD, the Manager of Medical Affairs and Research at Pack Health, A Quest Diagnostics Company, presented the findings during the conference alongside Tenesha Hood, MA, Senior Specialist, Project Manager, Collaborative Initiatives at the American College of Rheumatology. “This study was done in part because current literature shows that there are significant differences in the care and support patients with lupus receive — from diagnosis to patient education, mental health support, and beyond, especially for marginalized communities,” Moore explained. “In addition to comprehensive patient education, this intervention allowed members to take back control of their health through changes in nutrition and exercise and gave them the resources needed to practice self-care and find support. Our findings demonstrate that when patients are engaged in a comprehensive DHC program, their quality of life can improve.” 

View the full poster here. To learn more about our research at Pack Health, visit here. 

Reference 

Sheikh SZ, Wanty NI, Stephens J, Holtz KD, McCalla S. The State of Lupus Clinical Trials: Minority Participation Needed. J Clin Med. 2019;8(8):1245. Published 2019 Aug 17. doi:10.3390/jcm8081245