Abstract
According to the World Health Organisation, allergic diseases, of which atopic eczema is one, are becoming more common all over the world; yet, the majority of people with allergic conditions are treated by health care professionals not trained in allergies.
The purpose of this study was to develop validated primary health care management guidelines for childhood atopic eczema.
The objectives of the study were:
to explore and describe the experiences of parents of children suffering from atopic eczema;
to explore and describe the experiences and the role of primary health care clinician in managing children with atopic eczema;
to explore and describe the experiences of dermatologists and paediatricians in managing children with atopic eczema;
to develop a conceptual framework from the empiral data in the first phase;
to develop and validate the primary health care management guidelines for childhood atopic eczema through the input of various stakeholders and experts nationwide.
The study was conducted in three phases. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual single case embedded study design was followed in phase one. Phase two consisted of the development of a conceptual framework for primary health care management of childhood atopic eczema in the public health sector, based on the empirical data from phase one. In phase three, following a quantitative design, the primary health care management guidelines for childhood atopic eczema were developed, validated and refined.
The findings of this research are applicable to primary health care nursing, nursing education and research. The central theme indicated the physical, emotional and social effect on all parties involved. The lack of effective management caused high levels of frustration and distress to all involved. The findings clearly indicated the need for intervention and provided evidence of how these children, families and health care practitioners can be assisted.
D.Cur.