Dr Ellie Choi, Prof Philip Phan, Prof Jose M Valderas and team have recently published their double-blind randomised controlled trial and process evaluation protocol of a digital psychotherapeutic app in BMJ Open. The app is designed to help patients manage the symptom burden associated with dermatological conditions.

Chronic inflammatory skin diseases, such as psoriasis and eczema, put a massive strain on patient mental health and have a significant adverse effect on their quality of life. While the importance of psychotherapeutic interventions for dermatology patients has been increasingly recognised, there is still a large treatment gap and lack of access to mental healthcare for these patients.

The team hopes that the psychotherapeutic app intervention will bridge the gap to provide patients with a digital toolkit to reduce their symptom burden and improve their mental well-being. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as well as process evaluation measures will be collected to assess this intervention’s efficacy. More details on the study’s protocol can be found here.

We look forward to seeing the outcomes of this innovative approach, which could pave the way for more person-centred, tech-enabled care for individuals with dermatological needs.