Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of patients with skin diseases who received patient education were eligible for inclusion in the review. Eligible trials had to report the outcomes of patient education. Trials were excluded if the primary focus was the prevention of skin diseases, the education of specialists, students or residents, or teledermatology.
The primary outcome was quality of life. The secondary outcome was disease severity.
Most of the included trials focused on atopic dermatitis; two trials focused on atopic dermatitis plus psoriasis. In over half the trials, patient education focused on children. The content, frequency and duration of the education programmes varied across the trials. The programmes were delivered by a number of different health professionals, including specialist dermatology nurse, dermatologist, and medical students (where reported). Included trials were carried out in a variety of settings (dermatology, paediatric and interdisciplinary outpatient clinics). Eleven different quality of life measures were used across the trials; the most frequently used was the Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis Scale for monitoring the severity of eczema. Quality of life was measured using age-specific questionnaires in paediatric populations. Participant ages ranged from three months to 65 years.
One reviewer selected studies for inclusion in the review.