Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol.  2009 Sep;29(3):179-185.

A Questionnaire Survey of Care-givers' Understanding of Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic relapsing disease in children, and its prevalence is increasing rapidly for the past 3 decades. The role of care- givers in the management of AD is important because AD usually develops during infancy.
OBJECTIVE
In this study, we evaluated the care-giver's perception of AD in order to support them for communicating with physicians. METHOD: Fifty-six patients' care-givers participated in the public education program at the Department of Pediatrics, Kyunghee Medical Center. A questionnaire was mainly composed of 15 items regarding diagnosis, treatment and dietary restriction AD. RESULT: Fifty-one percent of the patients were treated by pediatricians or dermatologists. Dietary restriction was thought to be the most important in the management, and 68% of the care-givers attempted to place dietary restriction on the patients. Patients with severe AD tended to be on food restriction. Among there care-givers, only 13% placed dietary restriction based on laboratory results.
CONCLUSION
In this study, we found that care-givers' overall understanding of AD was poor and frequently relied on alternative treatment and injudicious dietary restriction without laboratory evaluation. Therefore, education of care- givers and mutual communication between care-givers and physicians are essential for the treatment of AD.

MeSH Terms

Caregivers
Child
Dermatitis, Atopic
Humans
Hypogonadism
Mitochondrial Diseases
Ophthalmoplegia
Pediatrics
Prevalence
Surveys and Questionnaires
Hypogonadism
Mitochondrial Diseases
Ophthalmoplegia