Development of self-care acquisition support program for school children with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

The most common form of eczema is atopic dermatitis (AD). This skin condition is prevalent among children but can affect people of any age, causing dryness, itchiness and soreness. In Japan, around 10 per cent of children are thought to have AD. In order to manage the condition, daily skincare is important and, when it comes to children, providing educational interventions to parents has been found to be effective. Yet, this type of education is not always readily available. Atsushi Sugimura, Faculty of Nursing, Tokai University School of Medicine, Japan, wants to change this and is working to promote the importance of self-care in the management of AD, with a view to improving the skin condition of school children with AD and also benefiting their parents. This research involves conducting interviews and questionnaires with school children and their parents in order to discern how children can be supported in self care. The researchers will use their findings to develop a self-care acquisition support programme. A key goal of this work is to foster independence in school children, encouraging them to take responsibility for their skin and look after it appropriately. Therefore, Sugimura and the team explored the relationship between school children's independence and parental care attitudes and found that when parental attitudes were restrictive, the care attitude of children was low. However, the researchers are considering the limitations to interpreting causality and therefore will continue to investigate this relationship.