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Young people's perceptions of acne and acne treatments: secondary analysis of qualitative interview data

Young people's perceptions of acne and acne treatments: secondary analysis of qualitative interview data
Young people's perceptions of acne and acne treatments: secondary analysis of qualitative interview data
Background: Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition affecting approximately 95% of adolescents to some extent. First‐line treatments are topical preparations but nonadherence is common. A substantial proportion of patients take long courses of oral antibiotics, associated with antibiotic resistance.

Objectives: this study aimed to explore young people's views and experiences of acne and its treatments.

Methods: we report a secondary thematic analysis of interview data collected by researchers in the Health Experiences Research Group (HERG), University of Oxford. A total of 25 transcripts from young people aged 13–24 years with acne were included.

Results: acne is often perceived as a short‐term self‐limiting condition of adolescence and this appears to have implications for seeking treatment or advice. Participants widely perceived topical treatments as being ineffective, which seemed related to unrealistic expectations around speed of onset of action. Many participants felt they had tried all available topical treatments, although were unsure what was in them or unaware of differences between cosmetic and pharmaceutical treatments. They had concerns around how to use topicals ‘properly’ and how to avoid side‐effects. They were also concerned about the side‐effects or necessity of oral treatments, although few seemed aware of antibiotic resistance.

Conclusions: people with acne need support to manage their condition effectively, particularly a better understanding of different topicals, how to use them and how to avoid side‐effects. Unrealistic expectations about the onset of action of treatments appears to be a common cause of frustration and nonadherence. Directing people towards accessible evidence‐based information is crucial.
0007-0963
Ip, Athena
a61d3c1f-66b6-471b-9dc8-e29aea14c449
Muller, Ingrid
2569bf42-51bd-40da-bbfd-dd4dbbd62cad
Geraghty, Adam
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
McNiven, Abigail
1260bf26-d82d-4e04-9a73-835be4e84536
Little, Paul
1bf2d1f7-200c-47a5-ab16-fe5a8756a777
Santer, Miriam
3ce7e832-31eb-4d27-9876-3a1cd7f381dc
Ip, Athena
a61d3c1f-66b6-471b-9dc8-e29aea14c449
Muller, Ingrid
2569bf42-51bd-40da-bbfd-dd4dbbd62cad
Geraghty, Adam
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
McNiven, Abigail
1260bf26-d82d-4e04-9a73-835be4e84536
Little, Paul
1bf2d1f7-200c-47a5-ab16-fe5a8756a777
Santer, Miriam
3ce7e832-31eb-4d27-9876-3a1cd7f381dc

Ip, Athena, Muller, Ingrid, Geraghty, Adam, McNiven, Abigail, Little, Paul and Santer, Miriam (2019) Young people's perceptions of acne and acne treatments: secondary analysis of qualitative interview data. British Journal of Dermatology. (doi:10.1111/bjd.18684).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition affecting approximately 95% of adolescents to some extent. First‐line treatments are topical preparations but nonadherence is common. A substantial proportion of patients take long courses of oral antibiotics, associated with antibiotic resistance.

Objectives: this study aimed to explore young people's views and experiences of acne and its treatments.

Methods: we report a secondary thematic analysis of interview data collected by researchers in the Health Experiences Research Group (HERG), University of Oxford. A total of 25 transcripts from young people aged 13–24 years with acne were included.

Results: acne is often perceived as a short‐term self‐limiting condition of adolescence and this appears to have implications for seeking treatment or advice. Participants widely perceived topical treatments as being ineffective, which seemed related to unrealistic expectations around speed of onset of action. Many participants felt they had tried all available topical treatments, although were unsure what was in them or unaware of differences between cosmetic and pharmaceutical treatments. They had concerns around how to use topicals ‘properly’ and how to avoid side‐effects. They were also concerned about the side‐effects or necessity of oral treatments, although few seemed aware of antibiotic resistance.

Conclusions: people with acne need support to manage their condition effectively, particularly a better understanding of different topicals, how to use them and how to avoid side‐effects. Unrealistic expectations about the onset of action of treatments appears to be a common cause of frustration and nonadherence. Directing people towards accessible evidence‐based information is crucial.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 7 November 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 437712
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/437712
ISSN: 0007-0963
PURE UUID: b153edee-3ce1-49a6-86f9-3a1fefa2e464
ORCID for Athena Ip: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8574-2569
ORCID for Ingrid Muller: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9341-6133
ORCID for Adam Geraghty: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7984-8351
ORCID for Paul Little: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-1873
ORCID for Miriam Santer: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7264-5260

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Date deposited: 12 Feb 2020 17:32
Last modified: 12 Jul 2024 01:47

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Contributors

Author: Athena Ip ORCID iD
Author: Ingrid Muller ORCID iD
Author: Adam Geraghty ORCID iD
Author: Abigail McNiven
Author: Paul Little ORCID iD
Author: Miriam Santer ORCID iD

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