Understanding the experiences of patients with antiphospholipid antibodies

What We're Working On

Scientific Study Title:

Exploring how Albertan lupus patients living with antiphospholipid antibodies access health information, communicate with physicians and experience their disease: a mixed methods approach.

Start Date:

September 2022

End Date:

November 2025

Research Category

Arthritis Care

Ready to Participate?

Want to participate in this study? Learn more here.

Why do this research?

Reason For Research

Lupus is a problem where the body’s defense system makes a mistake and recognizes its own tissues as foreign and then attacks them. It can cause problems in the brain, skin, heart, lungs, kidney, joints and blood. Almost half of lupus patients are at risk for blood clots and related problems in pregnancy. These clotting issues are not well-understood and treatments are not clear-cut. Studies show that patients do not have the resources they need to understand this diagnosis, make decisions about it, or discuss it with doctors.

Methodology

Execution of Research

We will survey lupus patients with clotting problems on which information sources they use to understand their disease and how they feel about their interactions with doctors. We will interview patients about their diagnosis and ask them to share photographs about how their lives have been affected by this condition. This study will help us create learning resources for patients. We will also develop tools to improve communication between patients and doctors to help weigh difficult health care decisions. Ours is the first study to combine surveys, interviews, and photo sharing to describe the experiences of lupus patients in order to improve their care.

Who is involved?

Involvement

Patients with clotting antibodies were recruited from the University of Calgary Lupus/APS Centre of Excellence.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Lupus is an illness that affects more women than men, and also disproportionately affects patients of certain racial/ethnic backgrounds. This study aims to include a wide range of people who are affected by lupus and clotting issues so that we can better understand how different factors affect how patients experience their illness. This will also help us develop learning resources that are meaningful to patients.