Educational and psychological interventions on psoriasis: a systematic review

Background: Plaque psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that has a major impact on patient ́s social and psychological abilities. Preliminary studies have suggested that educative and psychological interventions may be effective in the management of psoriasis. Objectives: To examine the educative and psychological interventions for psoriasis in the last 20 years (1992-2012). Methods: A systematic review of literature was conducted in medical and psychological databases: PubMed / Medline, PsycInfo (APA), ProQuest and Pepsic. Results: 1359 articles were first selected by computerized search, from which 36 were examined by two revisers. Seven studies (n=7) were selected to a more in depth analysis, one (n=1) was a single educative intervention, two (n=2) involved psychological interventions and four (n=4) were symptom management programmes. Conclusion: Although the recent literature shows an increase number of interventions targeting psoriasis and psychosocial variables, stronger studies are necessary to help patients deal with the disease.