Educational Programs for the Management of Childhood Atopic Dermatitis: An Integrative Review.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this integrative review was to synthesize the available research on educational programs for the management of childhood atopic dermatitis.

METHODS

Articles were retrieved from the following databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and SCOPUS. Inclusion criteria were publication in the English or Korean language prior to March 2013, as a peer-reviewed empirical study focused on educational programs for childhood atopic dermatitis.

RESULTS

Fifteen papers met the inclusion criteria. Four themes were derived from the data: (a) children of all ages and symptom severity, and their families as learners; (b) well-trained and family-preferred health professionals as educators; (c) long-term follow-up with diverse interventions as educational methods; and (d) quality of life for the child and family as educational goals.

CONCLUSIONS

This review indicates the challenges that health professionals face in improving symptoms of atopic dermatitis. The identified strategies can be used in the development of more effective evidence-based programs. Future studies should focus on the development and evaluation of educational programs that include these themes.