This May, in recognition of Lupus Awareness Month, the Florida Department of Health is working to raise awareness about lupus. Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood disease that ravages different parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and a challenge to treat.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, there are an estimated 1.5 million Americans living with lupus and 5 million worldwide. In recent years, the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention has partnered with the Big Bend Rural Health Network (BBRHN) to host a one-day summit in Tallahassee to raise awareness of lupus in the Big Bend area.  As a result of this partnership, the bureau has collaborated with the BBRHN on the 2016-2021 State Health Action Plan for addressing lupus. The purpose of this plan is to provide strategies to engage the community and ensure that efforts to improve population health to address lupus statewide are being met.

During this month, the department works to increase health equity among Floridians diagnosed with lupus, improve access to care and longevity of one’s life and increase the availability of health communication materials about lupus.

For more information about lupus and statewide efforts to reduce asthma disparities, please visit the Department’s Lupus Awareness information page.