Getting a grip on guidelines: occupational contact dermatitis and urticaria

Abstract

Evidence-based guideline development can be seen as one of the major recent developments in efforts to improve patient care, providing clinicians and patients with information on how to manage health problems appropriately in day-to-day practice.1 Active involvement of patients and the public in the research process is expected to lead to research which reflects their needs and views, and subsequently is likely to produce results that can be used to improve practice in health and social care.2 The British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) is a charity which raises and deploys funds for occupational health research of practical value to reduce the enormous cost to employers and workers of work-related illnesses. In March 2010, the BOHRF launched evidence-based guidelines for the prevention, identification and management of occupational contact dermatitis and urticaria.3 The guideline development group comprised dermatologists, a GP, occupational physicians, occupational health nurses, safety professionals, employers, and trade union and patient representatives. Previously, the NHS Plus Occupational Health Clinical Effectiveness Unit at the Royal College of Physicians released evidence-based guidelines about latex allergy4 and dermatitis,5 particularly as they affected healthcare workers in 2008 and 2009 respectively. GPs face pressure to provide a mounting range of services and targets on behalf of their NHS patients. A total of 28.9 million people are employed in the UK,6 …