Stress Management Training for Children and Adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis during Inpatient Rehabilitation

Abstract

Background: Besides having to cope with general developmental demands, children and adolescents suffering from atopic dermatitis (AD) have to face further daily and disease-related stressors. Therefore, an efficient stress and disease management is essential in order to avoid adverse effects on this chronic condition. Methods: In the present study, a patient education program implemented in inpatient rehabilitation was evaluated. A main component of this program was a cognitive-behavioral stress management training. Its efficacy was studied in comparison to a more knowledge-oriented education program without stress management. A total number of 60 patients aged 8–16 years participated in each treatment condition. 44 patients were included in the half-year catamnesis. Results: Immediately after rehabilitation, both groups showed a significant reduction in disease severity regarding the SCORAD index. Assessments at half-year follow-up indicated that the patient education program with stress management led to improvements in subjective health status and ability of coping with common stressors. In contrast, the control treatment tended to impair stress management in the long term. Conclusions: The results suggest that the multimodal patient education training for children and adolescents suffering from AD has beneficial effects on stress and disease management. The results are discussed with regard to an amelioration in quality of life.