‘Not just a piece of skin in front of you’—a qualitative exploration of the experiences of adolescents with eczema and psoriasis with healthcare professionals

Abstract

Background There is little qualitative research in the UK focussing on adolescents’ experience of their healthcare providers, and inflammatory skin conditions are a common heath problem in adolescence.Aim To explore the experiences of adolescents with eczema and psoriasis with healthcare professionals, and to distil the participants’ key messages for their healthcare providers.Design This is a secondary thematic analysis of interviews with adolescents with eczema or psoriasis.Participants There were a total of 41 text transcripts of interviews with young people with eczema or psoriasis who had given permission for secondary analysis; 23 of the participants had eczema, and 18 psoriasis. Participants were living in the UK at time of interview, and aged 15–24 years old.Results We have distilled the following key messages from young people with eczema and psoriasis for healthcare providers: (1) address the emotional impact; (2) give more information, with the subtheme and (3) appreciate patient research. We identified the following eczema-specific themes: (ECZ-4) ‘It’s not taken seriously’; (ECZ-5) offer choice in treatment and (ECZ-6) lack of structure/conflicting advice. Two psoriasis-specific themes were identified: (PSO-4) feeling dehumanised/treat me as a person; and (PSO-5) think about how treatments will affect daily life.Conclusion This qualitative data analysis highlights the need for greater recognition of the emotional impact of skin disease in adolescence, and for more comprehensive provision of information about the conditions. We call for greater sensitivity and flexibility in our approach to adolescents with skin disease, with important implications for healthcare delivery to this group.