Do you suffer with Eczema?

Nettleham Medical Practice and patients have recently been taking part in research study looking at additional interventions for people who suffer with eczema. It is with your help and support that we are able to participate in such projects. This latest project has now been accepted and published in the British Medical Journal.

Eczema Care Online behavioural interventions to support self-care for children and young people: two independent, pragmatic, randomised controlled trials

Eczema Care Online Study

Eczema is a common long-term condition that can have a substantial impact on the quality of life of both children and adults. Even relatively simple treatment regimens for eczema can be burdensome, consisting of avoidance of triggers and irritants, regular emollient treatment, and use of topical anti-inflammatory agents such as corticosteroids.

Although eczema guidelines stress the importance of education about eczema, international data suggest that availability of eczema education programmes is sparse in most countries. Furthermore, systematic reviews have shown limited evidence of benefit for educational, psychological, or self-management interventions in improving eczema outcomes or quality of life.  

The study gave patients access to two interventions groups which were created separately in parallel: one for parents or carers of children with eczema and one for young people with eczema. The interventions were entirely online and self-guided and participants could use as much or as little of the intervention as they wanted. 

The results showed Eczema Care Online interventions for parents and carers of children with eczema and for young people with eczema are evidence based resources that have been shown to help young people better understand, cope with, and manage their eczema, and offer a useful benefit in clinical outcomes, sustained over 52 weeks. A small amount of benefit at low cost with no identifiable harms for a condition that affects a large number of people can lead to substantial health benefit for the public in absolute terms. The findings reinforce the key role of health professionals in signposting patients and carers towards self-management support for long term conditions.

If this is something that may benefit you or someone you know please follow the link:

www.EczemaCareOnline.org.uk