Psychological distress in disfiguring dermatological abnormalities
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Impact of lasers on pyschological distress observed in cutaneous abnormalities referred to the Birmingham Regional Laser Centre .
IRAS ID
193359
Contact name
Saibal Sanyal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
1-10 % of the UK population are believed to have a disfigurement- such as a scar, blemish, or a deformity which seriously hinders their capacity to lead a normal life. It is commonly suggested that individuals whose appearance significantly deviates from the percieved norm have a more defined sense of self, leading to greatere pressure to comply with social standards. This pressure has important ramifications affecting relationship and hobbies, quality of life as well as career aspirations.While many seek medical or surgical treatments for disfigurement, there are always limitations as to what can be achieved.
Psychosocial distress has been reported in a lot of disfiguring conditions such as facial trauma, burns and tumours but there is a paucity of data in understanding the full impact of psychosocial distress in dermatological conditions which are amenable to laser therapy.
Previous studies have shown an improved quality of life after laser treatment particularly in vascular birthmarks such as port wine stains and also in rosacea and vitiligo but there has been no broad study looking at all the other potentially disfiguring facial dermatological abnormalities such as facial scarring, blemishes , pigmentary birth marks , excess hair on the face and facial tattoos etc and study the impact of laser in reducing the psychological burden.
We aim to recruit about 100 patients with facial dermatological problems referred to the Birmingham regional laser centre and conduct a questionnaire based study looking at quality of life issues from the psychological perspective and analyse whether there has been a significant psychological improvement at par with clinical results.
Eligible patients will be adult males and females above the age of 18 who will consent for the questionnaire based study. Questionnaire will be filled by the patients before initiation of laser treatment and also after the treatment has finished.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0512
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion