Abstract
Chronic inflammatory skin disorders have a major impact on the patients’ health related quality of life. Preliminary studies to date have suggested that additional educational and psychological training programmes may be effective in the management of chronic skin diseases, although more rigid methodology is needed. Our purpose was to investigate the effect on quality of life of a novel multidisciplinary educational programme for patients, 18 years or older, with chronic skin diseases. The 12-week intervention encompasses cognitive education on skin and general health issues, and stress-reducing techniques. Quality of life questionnaires were used to assess the participants at baseline and at the end of the program. These comprehend Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Skindex-29, Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) and Quality of Life Index for Atopic Dermatitis (QoLIAD). Fifty-five patients participated in six programmes since 2006. Forty-three patients completed the programme. Overall, compared to baseline, DLQI (n = 39) improved by 5.64 points (p < 0.001; SD ±6.09), Skindex-29 (n = 27) by 19.67 points (p < 0.001; SD ±17.37), PDI (n = 9) improved by 7.44 points (p = 0.019; SD ±7.60) and QoLIAD (n = 13) improved by 4.39 points (p = 0.036; SD ±6.69) by the end of the intervention. Preliminary results show that the quality of life of the patients with chronic skin diseases improved significantly after participation to the programme. These positive initial results are stimulating to set up a prospective controlled randomised trial investigating the impact on quality of life, the clinical efficacy and the cost-effectiveness of this educational intervention programme.
References
Abeni D, Picardi A, Pasquini P, Melchi CF, Chren MM (2002) Further evidence of the validity and reliability of the Skindex-29: an Italian study on 2, 242 dermatological outpatients. Dermatology 204:43–49
Arck P, Paus R (2006) From the brain–skin connection: the neuroendocrine-immune misalliance of stress and itch. Neuroimmunomodulation 13:347–356
Arck PC, Slominski A, Theoharides TC, Peters EM, Paus R (2006) Neuroimmunology of stress: skin takes center stage. J Invest Dermatol 126:1697–1704
Asztalos M, Wijndaele K, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Philippaerts R, Matton L, Duvigneaud N, Thomis M, Duquet W, Lefevre J, Cardon G (2009) Specific associations between types of physical activity and components of mental health. J Sci Med Sport 12:468–474
Basra MK, Fenech R, Gatt RM, Salek MS, Finlay AY (2008) The dermatology life quality index 1994–2007: a comprehensive review of validation data and clinical results. Br J Dermatol 159:997–1035
Bathe A, Matterne U, Dewald M, Grande T, Weisshaar E (2009) Educational multidisciplinary training programme for patients with chronic pruritus. Acta Derm Venereol 89:498–501
Buske-Kirschbaum A, Kern S, Ebrecht M, Hellhammer DH (2007) Altered distribution of leukocyte subsets and cytokine production in response to acute psychosocial stress in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Brain Behav Immun 21:92–99
Chida Y, Steptoe A, Hirakawa N, Sudo N, Kubo C (2007) The effects of psychological intervention on atopic dermatitis. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 144:1–9
Ersser SJ, Latter S, Sibley A, Satherley PA, Welbourne S (2007) Psychological and educational interventions for atopic eczema in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 18:CD004054
Evers AW, Duller P, de Jong EM, Otero ME, Verhaak CM, van der Valk PG, van de Kerkhof PC, Kraaimaat FW (2009) Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary itch-coping training programme in adults with atopic dermatitis. Acta Derm Venereol 89:57–63
Evers AW, Lu Y, Duller P, van der Valk PG, Kraaimaat FW, van de Kerkhof PC (2005) Common burden of chronic skin diseases? Contributors to psychological distress in adults with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol 152:1275–1281
Fortune DG, Richards HL, Kirby B, Bowcock S, Main CJ, Griffiths CE (2002) A cognitive-behavioural symptom management programme as an adjunct in psoriasis therapy. Br J Dermatol 146:458–465
Kimball AB, Gladman D, Gelfand JM, Gordon K, Horn EJ, Korman NJ, Korver G, Krueger GG, Strober BE, Lebwohl MG (2008) National Psoriasis Foundation clinical consensus on psoriasis comorbidities and recommendations for screening. J Am Acad Dermatol 58:1031–1042
Lewis VJ, Finlay AY (2005) Two decades experience of the Psoriasis Disability Index. Dermatology 210:261–268
Lora V, Gisondi P, Calza A, Zanoni M, Girolomoni G (2009) Efficacy of a single educative intervention in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. Dermatology 219:316–321
Matousek RH, Dobkin PL, Pruessner J (2010) Cortisol as a marker for improvement in mindfulness-based stress reduction. Complement Ther Clin Pract 16:13–19
Renzi C, Di Pietro C, Gisondi P, Chinni LM, Fazio M, Ianni A, Tabolli S (2006) Insufficient knowledge among psoriasis patients can represent a barrier to participation in decision-making. Acta Derm Venereol 86:528–534
Staab D, von Rueden U, Kehrt R, Erhart M, Wenninger K, Kamtsiuris P, Wahn U (2002) Evaluation of a parental training program for the management of childhood atopic dermatitis. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 13:84–90
Treloar V (2010) Integrative dermatology for psoriasis: facts and controversies. Clin Dermatol 28:93–99
van Os-Medendorp H, Ros WJ, Eland-de Kok PC, Kennedy C, Thio BH, Van der Schuur-van der Zande A, Grypdonck MH, Bruijnzeel-Koomen CA (2007) Effectiveness of the nursing programme ‘coping with itch’: a randomized controlled study in adults with chronic pruritic skin disease. Br J Dermatol 156:1235–1244
Warsi A, Wang PS, LaValley MP, Avorn J, Solomon DH (2004) Self-management education programs in chronic disease: a systematic review and methodological critique of the literature. Arch Intern Med 164:1641–1649
West J, Otte C, Geher K, Johnson J, Mohr DC (2004) Effects of Hatha yoga and African dance on perceived stress, affect, and salivary cortisol. Ann Behav Med 28:114–118
Whalley D, McKenna SP, Dewar AL, Erdman RA, Kohlmann T, Niero M, Cook SA, Crickx B, Herdman MJ, Frech F, Van Assche D (2004) A new instrument for assessing quality of life in atopic dermatitis: international development of the Quality of Life Index for Atopic Dermatitis (QoLIAD). Br J Dermatol 150:274–283
Wingfield K, Matheson GO, Meeuwisse WH (2004) Pre-participation evaluation: an evidence-based review. Clin J Sport Med 14:109–122
Acknowledgments
Supported by unrestricted grants of Pierre Fabre SA, Schering-Plough, Wyeth, LEO Pharma, Special thanks to the teachers: Strubbe Frederik, De Potter Marie-Amélie, Moreau Els, Lemmens Gilbert, Mariman An, Algoet Peter, Bourgois Jan, Boudrez Hedwig, De Bisschop Kristel, Geirnaert Mia, Soetaert Ann and Lutgarde Jenkins for practical follow up.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
J. Lambert and J. Bostoen contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lambert, J., Bostoen, J., Geusens, B. et al. A novel multidisciplinary educational programme for patients with chronic skin diseases: Ghent pilot project and first results. Arch Dermatol Res 303, 57–63 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-010-1082-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-010-1082-z