Priyamvada Paudyal, Christian Apfelbacher, Christina Jones, Sanna Siddiqui, Aisha El-Turki, Claudia DeGiovanni, Helen Smith
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-3417

Little is known about which quality of life measure best captures the lived experience of people with a chronic skin condition. The purpose of this study was to explore patients’ views on the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Skindex-29. Participants were adults (n = 28) with a diagnosis of eczema or psoriasis who completed the DLQI and the Skindex-29 before being interviewed about the content and format of these questionnaires. Interviews were analysed using content analysis. Participants were generally satisfied with length and layout of both questionnaires. However, the majority preferred the Skindex-29 for its ease of understanding, use of a longer recall period and incorporation of items on a variety of emotions. Participants reported both questionnaires failing to incorporate important aspects of their lives, for instance impact on professional relationships. Participants voiced limitations in both measures but overall felt Skindex-29 better captured their lived experience.

People with chronic skin conditions often experience impairments in their quality of life. Several questionnaires exist for measuring quality of life in skin disease, e.g. the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Skindex-29. In this study we asked 28 patients with eczema or psoriasis to what degree these two measures capture what matters to them. Overall, the patients felt that Skindex-29 better captured their lived experience due to its items on emotions, a longer recall period of 4 weeks and greater ease of understanding. However, both DLQI and Skindex-29 lack important content such as impact of disease on professional relationships.