Psychoeducational Approach to Improve Health in Lupus

We will study the relationships among patient/partner communication, social support, and self-efficacy (a person's belief in the ability to manage his or her disease) as they affect the health of people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus) over time. We are assigning 150 people with lupus and their partners to either (1) receive counseling to improve self-efficacy, partner support, and patient/partner problem solving or (2) see an informational film about lupus. We will follow study participants for 12 months to find out about their physical and mental health, disease activity, beliefs that they can take steps that help them feel better, coping, social support, and couples communication.