Lupus affects all aspects of a person’s life—physically, financially and emotionally. That’s why it’s so important to understand how people living with lupus are able to manage and cope with the disease.
I wanted to learn more about how people with lupus, especially women, face the challenges of living with lupus. My grant from the Lupus Foundation of America helped me begin to understand how psychological and environmental factors affect people with lupus and their mental health and well-being. This includes everything from a person’s living situation, personal relationships, family history and coping skills. All of them affect a person’s ability to cope with the disease.
With my grant, I was able to pilot a Rheumatic Disease Resilience Scale: Lupus Version (RDRS-L) to measure resilience in people with lupus—essentially what factors influence a person’s ability to effectively manage the sometimes overwhelming challenges of lupus. My goal was to demonstrate how resilience can be measured in lupus patients and set the stage for a larger study.
If we can understand how people successfully cope with lupus, we can help all patients lead better lives.
I am so grateful for donors like you and the Lupus Foundation of America who helped launch my career in lupus research. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you.
With gratitude,
Alanna Hirz, Ph.D. candidate
The Regents of the University of California
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