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This study was undertaken to assess the effects of a web‐based program, MyLupusGuide,developed to facilitate self‐management in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this randomized controlled online study, participants received either immediate access to the MyLupusGuide site or delayed access starting on month 3. The primary outcome was the patient activation measure (PAM) score. Secondary outcomes included measurements of health status, self‐efficacy, coping, perceived patient–physician relationship, and medication adherence. Outcomes were measured at the baseline visit and at the 3‐month and 6‐month follow‐up visits. We used linear mixed modeling to compare PAM scores between the 2 groups at months 3 and 6. There were 541 participants included in this study. The mean ± SE age was 50 ± 14 years; 93% were female and 74% were White. The mean ± SE disease duration was 17 ± 12 years, and 56% visited MyLupusGuide at least once. The baseline mean ± SE PAM score was 61.2 ± 13, with 36% scoring low for perceived self‐management skills. After 3 months of exposure to MyLupusGuide, there were no differences in terms of PAM scores between groups. In exploratory analyses, we found significant improvement in PAM scores in those who had low PAM scores at baseline and in male individuals. We observed significant improvements in self‐efficacy before and after access to MyLupusGuide and delayed improvements at month 6 compared to month 3 in terms of mental health and emotional coping. MyLupusGuide increases self‐efficacy but not patient activation. A total of 56% of participants visited the MyLupusGuide site during the study period. Individuals with lupus need support to become activated toward self‐management behaviors.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease with varied and unpredictable levels of disease activity. The ability to self‐manage lupus is important in controlling disease activity. Our objective was to determine levels of patient activation toward self‐management in lupus. We used baseline results from the MyLupusGuide study, which had recruited 541 lupus patients from 10 lupus centers. We used the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), a validated self‐reported tool designed to measure activation toward self‐management ability, as our primary variable and examined its association with demographic, disease‐related, patient–provider communication and psychosocial variables captured in our study protocol. Univariable and multivariable linear regressions were performed using linear mixed models, with a random effect for centers. The mean ± SD age of participants was 50 ± 14 years, 93% were female, 74% were White, and the mean ± SD disease duration was 17 ± 12 years. The mean ± SD PAM score was 61.2 ± 13.5, with 36% of participants scoring in the 2 lower levels, indicating low activation. Variables associated with low activation included being single, having lower physical health status, lower self‐reported disease activity, lower self‐efficacy, use of more emotional coping and fewer distraction and instrumental coping strategies, and a perceived lack of clarity in patient–doctor communication. Low patient activation was observed in more than one‐third of lupus patients, indicating that a large proportion of patients perceived that they are lacking in lupus self‐management skills. These results highlight a modifiable gap in perceived self‐management ability among patients with lupus.