Does social support reduce bodily pain among African American women with SLE? Findings from a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Peer mentoring has been shown to be an effective intervention for chronic conditions with evidence to suggest that it might improve health-related bodily pain among African American women living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, there is a lack of evidence to describe the intervention impact when adjusting for self-management of SLE. The present work aims to determine whether greater patient activation is associated with greater reductions in pain overall and within intervention groups.

Methods: Data were used from the Peer Approaches to Lupus Self-Management study, a randomised controlled trial designed to determine the efficacy of peer mentorship in African American women with SLE. A total of 274 participants were randomised to an intervention (mentorship) or control (non-mentorship) arms. Data were collected on self-reported Lupus Quality of Life questionnaire for bodily pain and Patient Activation Measure (PAM). Linear mixed models and multivariable linear mixed models were fit to assess the intervention and impact of PAM on bodily pain over time.

Results: Increased patient activation was significantly associated with greater reductions in bodily pain (b=-0.13, p=0.019); however, there was no significant difference in intervention group over the study period between the intervention and control groups CONCLUSION: Patient self-management can have a significant effect on bodily pain for SLE patients. Future work aims to consider strategies which address patient activation as a mechanism for reducing pain and improving quality of life.

Trial registration number: NCT03734055.