It’s a disease that affects millions of Australian children – but many families have no idea how to manage it.
But now, an Australian dermatologist is leading the charge to reform how the health system approaches eczema.
Adelaide-based Dr Corinne Maiolo recently won a €25,000 (about $40,700) grant from the Europe-based La Foundation La Roche-Posay to advance her work, which would offer patients education in managing their condition – something the health system currently struggles to provide.
“Patients only get 10 to 15 minutes with a doctor (per appointment), which isn’t enough time,” Maiolo said.
It’s particularly the case in rural areas where access to dermatologists is limited.
Under Maiolo’s proposed care model, patients would still see a dermatologist, but they – and their family, in the case of younger patients – would then work with a nurse to understand how they can manage their condition themselves.
“Over one in three children have an eczema diagnosis at some point,” Maiolo said.
“For a lot of families, this will be a very new experience.”
Maiolo’s model was inspired by the education offered to diabetes and asthma patients in the areas of self-care.
But skin conditions, she said, were “quite overlooked”, and specialist staff were hard to find – especially outside the public system.
Around the world, more than two billion people live with skin disorders and issues.
According to a study cited by La Foundation La Roche-Posay, 98 per cent of them said their condition affected their quality of life.
Maiolo’s current priority is to press forward with her study, recruiting suitable patients in two areas – urban Adelaide, and the regional town of Renmark in South Australia’s rural Riverland.
They will take part in Maiolo’s education program for nine to 10 months.
Maiolo said she hoped the findings would prompt some recognition of the importance of care for skin conditions such as eczema – and shake some funding loose from the government.
She also hopes to expand the program to include other chronic skin conditions.
