Therapeutic Patient Education

Abstract

Patient education in atopic dermatitis (AD) represents an essential therapeutic tool, which should be offered in addition to routine care, since previous studies have revealed that AD outpatients are often insufficiently treated and show severe limitations of quality of life. Considering the multifactorial pathogenesis of this chronic skin disease, the success of therapeutic patient education seems to depend on the involvement of a multidisciplinary team of professionals. The training program should include aspects on dermatology and allergy, but also on diet and nursing, as well as on disease-specific psychological issues. Synergistic beneficial effects upon interaction between affected patients or parents should be considered by performing the training in small groups. The overall aim of therapeutic patient education in AD should be an improvement of self-management strategies to finally achieve a decrease in disease severity and an increase in quality of life. For children (and their parents) and adolescents with AD, successful programs have already been developed. However, in many countries, there is still a need for official recommendations in order to regulate reimbursement for the costs of such programs. Since the preliminary results from pilot studies in adults have been promising, further large controlled trials on patient education in this age group are needed to finally improve outpatient care also in adulthood AD.