Peer-to-Peer Education (PALS)
About the Program
The Patient Advocates for Lupus Studies (PALS) program is a tested and proven peer education program co-designed with people living with lupus to improve clinical trial awareness, knowledge, and enrollment, with a focus on ensuring representative participation in lupus research.
Launched in 2019, it is the first and only program that connects individuals interested in clinical research with patient advocates who participated in lupus trials and are trained to support them throughout the clinical trial process.
The program focuses on:
- Early education, in which patient advocates provide trial-agnostic education on what it means to participate in a clinical trial.
- Trial-specific support, where, working alongside biopharmaceutical companies, patient advocates help support individuals who may be considering enrolling or have enrolled in a specific clinical trial.
The program is available at clinical research sites across North America, working closely with those within the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN), which comprises more than 60 of the most prestigious research medical centers and is overseen by Lupus Therapeutics.
Program Goals & Success
The goals of the PALS program are to:
- Increase awareness of the need for clinical trial participation, and the potential risks and benefits of lupus clinical trials among a more representative population of patients
- Increase participation in clinical research, that ideally will lead to treatments that improve health outcomes and quality of life for people living with lupus
- Increase representative participation in clinical trials so study results reflect safety and effectiveness in the entire lupus population
To date, the PALS program has:
- Proven to increase knowledge, interest, and action in clinical trials, with published results in ACR Open Rheumatology
- Reached more than 100 people living with lupus
- Received support from six biopharmaceutical companies
Our PALS Partners
The PALS program is now available to more than 100 clinical research sites across North America. To learn more, contact: PatientEngagement@lupusresearch.org
Partners Making PALS possible
