Research Update: Your Dollars at Work to Understand the Burden of Eczema as a Disease

Articles

By National Eczema Association

Published On: Dec 1, 2015

Last Updated On: Jul 15, 2021

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You know all about the struggles of living with eczema and the burdens of eczema as a disease: the constant itch; the difficulty of trying to manage work or school — and be your best — after another sleepless night; the high cost of needed medications and over-the-counter products that make a big dent in your budget and your lifestyle. The list could go on and on. Due to your financial support, NEA is one step closer to understanding the burden of eczema as a disease, through an exciting NEA research grant award.

The challenges of eczema impact patients, families, the healthcare system, schools, places of work, and society as a whole. But, as you know, most people don’t understand what it really means to have eczema and there are gaps in the data needed to document the burden of eczema as a disease. And that burden of disease data is critical to NEA’s success in implementing the Roadmap to Advocacy to raise the pro le of eczema as a serious disease, to deliver stronger, more united messages to insurers, medical providers and policy-makers on behalf of the eczema community, and to build the case to focus more funding on research for better eczema treatments and an eventual cure.

NEA research grant on burden of disease

NEA awarded a research grant to audit the existing burden of disease literature in both pediatric and adult eczema/atopic dermatitis to investigator Aaron M. Drucker, M.D., FRCPC, DABD, and co-investigators Abrar Quereshi, M.D., MPH, DADB, Annie Wang, M.D., and Wen- Qing Li, Ph.D., of Brown University for their “Burden of Eczema” study.

The “Burden of Eczema” project encompassed a review of eczema comorbidity, quality of life, family impact, healthcare impact, and society impact data. The study identifies where the gaps in evidence are, helping to clarify where upcoming research should focus next. This will inform NEA’s next targeted research strategies and will be of benefit to everyone in the eczema research field.

The need for more research, and to demonstrate the burden of eczema as a disease is clear. As outlined in NEA’s Roadmap to Advocacy, NEA aims to be a steward of burden of disease research by serving as a clearinghouse for this type of research that can be readily shared with individuals and organizations interested in improving the lives of eczema patients.

Read the initial findings from the NEA Burden of Disease Audit. 

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