Peer-to-Peer Mentoring for African American Women With Lupus: A Feasibility Pilot

Objective: To examine the feasibility and potential benefits of peer mentoring to improve the disease self-management and quality of life of individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: Peer mentors were trained and paired with up to 3 mentees to receive self-management education and support by telephone over 12 weeks. This study took place at an academic teaching hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. Seven quads consisting of 1 peer mentor and 3 mentees were matched, based on factors such as age, area of residence, and marital and work status. Mentee outcomes of self-management, health-related quality of life, and disease activity were measured using validated tools at baseline, mid-intervention, and post-intervention. Descriptive statistics and effect sizes were calculated to determine clinically important (>0.3) changes from baseline. Results: Mentees showed trends toward lower disease activity (P = 0.004) and improved health-related quality of life, in the form of decreased anxiety (P = 0.018) and decreased depression (P = 0.057). Other improvements in health-related quality of life were observed with effect sizes >0.3, but did not reach statistical significance. In addition, both mentees and mentors gave very high scores for perceived treatment credibility and service delivery. Conclusion: The intervention was well received. Training, the peer-mentoring program, and outcome measures were demonstrated to be feasible with modifications. This result provides preliminary support for the efficacy, acceptability, and perceived credibility of a peer-mentoring approach to improve disease self-management and health-related quality of life in African American women with SLE. Peer mentoring may augment current rheumatologic care.