An Educational Program That Contributes to Improved Patient and Parental Understanding of Atopic Dermatitis

BACKGROUND Providing an educational program as part of a health care program for the management of atopic dermatitis (AD) patients has rapidly become popular. AD educational programs can be of benefit in measured outcomes for both dermatology specialists and patients. OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of programmed education delivered by dermatology specialists on the management and knowledge of AD, we assessed the effectiveness of patient/parental education at improving AD knowledge, and determined the usefulness of the education. METHODS The program consisted of five, 20-minutes sessions which were prepared, discussed, reviewed, and delivered by professors of dermatology. At the end of the program, AD knowledge was assessed using a standardized questionnaire. A total of 148 people were included. Fifty-eight patients/parents received the programmed education and the remaining 90 did not receive the programmed education. RESULTS The mean questionnaire scores from both groups were compared. Mean knowledge scores were significantly higher for those who received the education (p=0.00). We analyzed the knowledge score according to factors such as gender, education level, marital status, and occupation. The data indicated that education level influences the subjects' knowledge level of AD, but gender, occupation, and marital status do not. CONCLUSION An educational program can be an effective tool to improve patient quality of life and treatment compliance by providing psychological support to the patients and their parents.