Ann Dermatol.  2015 Feb;27(1):40-47. 10.5021/ad.2015.27.1.40.

Disease Awareness and Management Behavior of Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Questionnaire Survey of 313 Patients

• Kim JE
• Lee YB
• Lee JH
• Kim HS
• Lee KH
• Park YM
• Cho SH
• Lee JY

• KMID: 2264835
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5021/ad.2015.27.1.40

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) should be relatively well informed about the disorder to control their condition and prevent flare-ups. Thus far, there is no accurate information about the disease awareness levels and therapeutic behavior of AD patients.
OBJECTIVE
To collect data on patients' knowledge about AD and their behavior in relation to seeking information about the disease and its treatment.
METHODS
We performed a questionnaire survey on the disease awareness and self-management behavior of AD patients. A total of 313 patients and parents of patients with AD who had visited the The Catholic University of Korea, Catholic Medical Center between November 2011 and October 2012 were recruited. We compared the percentage of correct answers from all collected questionnaires according to the demographic and disease characteristics of the patients.
RESULTS
Although dermatologists were the most frequent disease information sources and treatment providers for the AD patients, a significant proportion of participants obtained information from the Internet, which carries a huge amount of false medical information. A considerable number of participants perceived false online information as genuine, especially concerning complementary and alternative medicine treatments of AD, and the adverse effects of steroids. Some questions on AD knowledge had significantly different answers according to sex, marriage status, educational level, type of residence and living area, disease duration, disease severity, and treatment history with dermatologists.
CONCLUSION
Dermatologists should pay more attention to correcting the common misunderstandings about AD to reduce unnecessary social/economic losses and improve treatment compliance.

Keyword

Awareness; Complementary therapies; Dermatitis; atopic; Disease management; Information seeking behavior

MeSH Terms

Complementary Therapies
Compliance
Dermatitis
Dermatitis, Atopic*
Disease Management
Educational Status
Humans
Information Seeking Behavior
Internet
Korea
Marriage
Parents
Self Care
Steroids
Surveys and Questionnaires
Steroids

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The information and treatment sources of the patients and parents with atopic dermatitis.

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