HHS Office of Minority Health Awards $2M to Help Reduce Lupus Related Health Disparities


Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Contact: OMHMedia@hhs.gov

HHS Office of Minority Health Awards $2M to Help Reduce Lupus Related Health Disparities

Today, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new grant award of approximately $2 million to four national organizations under the National Health Education Lupus Program (NHELP). This grant program will support efforts to reduce lupus related health disparities among racial and ethnic minority and/or disadvantaged populations disproportionately affected by this disease. The National Health Education Lupus Program provides funding for two types of projects:

o Priority A: to conduct a national health education program on lupus to increase and improve awareness, diagnosis, and treatment outcomes for individuals living with lupus, and
o Priority B: to develop and begin implementing an education program on clinical trials that educates and recruits minorities and/or disadvantaged populations, particularly groups underrepresented in clinical research.

Three organizations received awards which total $1 million to conduct Priority A projects – national health education programs on lupus to increase and improve awareness, diagnosis and treatment outcomes for individuals living with lupus: American College of Rheumatology (Atlanta, GA) – $335,000; Association of State and Territorial Directors of Health Promotion and Public Health (Washington, DC) – $329,946; and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (Washington, DC) – $334,905.
Through this program, grantees will work to increase: (1) the number of health professionals and student trainees who are knowledgeable and skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of lupus, (2) the number of health professionals with enhanced knowledge and expertise in the signs and symptoms of lupus, treatment adherence, and screening, (3) the number of people who are aware of the disease and knowledgeable about its symptoms and warning signs, and (4) the number of providers that use culturally and linguistically appropriate lupus materials to disseminate information to patients and families, including educational and multi-media materials.

The Lupus Foundation of America, Washington, DC, received approximately $1 million to conduct a Priority B project – to develop and begin implementing an education program on clinical trials that educates and recruits minorities and/or disadvantaged populations, particularly groups underrepresented in clinical research. Grant funding will support (1) the development of public, private and community partnerships to address minority and/or disadvantaged populations' participation in clinical trials, (2) evaluation of current clinical trial education, recruitment, and participation initiatives for minority and/or disadvantaged populations, (3) development of innovative education program models on clinical trial participation for minority and/or disadvantaged populations that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for the targeted population(s); and (4) development of an action plan for disseminating these education models to increase minority and/or disadvantaged populations' participation in lupus clinical trials.

'The National Health Education Lupus Program grant award is an important initiative by the HHS Office of Minority Health to help remove barriers to diagnosis, treatment, disease management, and research participation for minorities and disadvantaged populations impacted by lupus, often due to limited access to lupus educational curricula tools and resources for practicing health professionals and trainees,' said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and Director of the Office of Minority Health.

For additional information visit: www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov.

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