PS43 Coping, loneliness and resilience in patients with skin conditions: study protocol for a multicentre study in 15 European countries

Abstract

Two former multicentre studies initiated by European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry members focused on the psychological burden of patients with skin diseases (depression, anxiety, stress, perceived stigmatization and body dysmorphia). The main objective of this study is to assess coping, loneliness and resilience in patients with skin conditions and to compare them with findings from controls with healthy skin. A secondary aim is to examine the impact of the skin disease on the patient’s partner. Data will be collected in 23 study centres across 15 European countries. At each study centre, 250 outpatients with different skin conditions and 125 controls with healthy skin will be recruited. In addition to a background questionnaire to gather sociodemographic and disease-related data, validated questionnaires will be applied to measure coping (Brief-COPE), loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale-8), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), sleep disorders (Insomnia Severity Index), symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2) and anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-2), general health (visual analogue scale of the EuroQol-5-D) and skin health (Skin Well-Being Scale). In patients, health-related quality of life will additionally be examined by means of the Dermatology Life Quality Index. All patients with a partner will additionally complete the Family Reported Outcome Measure-16, a questionnaire to be filled in by their partners to evaluate the impact of disease on the partner. Coping is defined as cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage demands perceived as exceeding personal resources, and includes problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies. In patients with psoriasis, coping styles vary according to age, sex and lesion localization. A recent French study suggested that resilience – the ability to adapt to health-related adversity – is reduced in individuals with skin diseases and is influenced by disease burden and sociodemographic factors. Loneliness, a construct inversely related to social support and associated with adverse health outcomes, has been reported to be elevated in several dermatological conditions, although findings differ across skin diseases and study populations.