Perceptions on achieving healthy weight in psoriasis and obesity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Perceptions on achieving healthy weight in individuals living with psoriasis and obesity: a qualitative interview study
IRAS ID
276586
Contact name
Rona Moss-Morris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Psoriasis is a complex incurable skin condition, affecting more than 2% of the UK population of whom a third is classified as having high body weight. Maintenance of a healthy body weight offers the opportunity to reduce the significant burden of psoriasis and to improve treatment response. Most therapeutic approaches are generic and emphasise on diet and physical activity as strategies to reduce weight in the context of psoriasis. Yet people with psoriasis face skin-related issues such as embarrassment that may impede their abilities to commit to the recommended weight loss behaviours.
The proposed study is part of a project aiming to design a behaviour-change weight loss intervention for people with psoriasis and obesity. This qualitative phase of the project will be conducted to inform the intervention content and to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of people living with psoriasis and obesity. The study will aim to address the following objectives: (1) which are the barriers and enablers to losing weight, (2) what are people’s needs and expectations of the new intervention and (3) what is the preferable mode of intervention delivery.
The target population will be patients with psoriasis and high body weight recruited from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital. Data collection will be facilitated through individual interviews. The interview topic guide is based on previous studies and theoretical evidence. Data analyses will follow Braun and Clarke (2006) guidelines which will facilitate the process to identify patterns which are consistent with previous research looking at the experiences of living with psoriasis and patterns that are innovative and provide new insights.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/WM/0118
Date of REC Opinion
4 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion