A Word from Sam Lim, MD, MPH

Dear GOAL  members,
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We would like to express our gratitude to each of you for continuing to be a part of the GOAL team! As you will learn from our newsletter, your time and input are of great value to our research.

As the result of your generous time responding the GOAL surveys, we have been able to contribute to the scientific knowledge on a variety of topics that are relevant to people with lupus and their providers. For instance, we have addressed questions on gaps of preventive care services and quality of care in people with lupus compared to other chronic diseases, the burden of SLE on unemployment and work productivity, and the impact of discrimination on organ damage associated with lupus, among others. The lessons learned from patients like you, have served to establish a National Public Health Agenda for Lupus, with the ultimately goal of improving the care and quality of life of people with lupus.

We are also proud to announce that with the amazing effort of our GOAL participants who filled out the 2011-2012 GOAL survey, we published an original study in a prestigious scientific journal. The study entitled “Primary preventive services in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Study from a population-based sample in Southern US” is a report on the quality of preventive care among SLE patients from our GOAL Project, as compared to the general population and to people with diabetes.

We hope that each of you enjoy this issue of the “Voices of GOAL” and continue to be an invaluable member of our GOAL team!
Sincerely,

S. Sam Lim, MD, MPH
Cristina Drenkard, MD, PhD

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