This year National Eczema Week was held from 13 to 19 September. Eczema affects around 20% of pre-school children in the UK and it can be a difficult condition to look after. Every year National Eczema Week raises awareness of the condition and its impact.
The University of Bristol's Anna Gilbertson successfully attracted funding from the SPCR to deliver a dissemination and engagement project linking it to an awareness campaign. One of the aims of the Eczema and Allergy Engagement project was to undertake a public engagement event at East Bristol Children’s Centre, following on from the success of previous SPCR funded engagement events.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the project resulted in an online interactive event on 17 September, during National Eczema Week, promoted via the Children’s Centre and Twitter. The aim of the event was to help raise awareness, increase public involvement in research, and improve the treatment of eczema, with a combination of short talks, demonstrations, and Q&A. The event attracted an audience of 16.
Dr Matthew Ridd began the event with a talk on the best and safest treatments for children's eczema. This was followed by Amanda Roberts from the Nottingham Support Group for Carers of Children with Eczema, who gave insights on her own experiences of having eczema and caring for children with eczema. Julie Clayton (CAPC PPI Co-ordinator) discussed involving and engaging patients in research; and Specialist Dermatology nurse at Bristol Royal Hospital, Susan George, provided useful filmed visuals with her overview and practical tips on managing eczema. CEO of the charity Eczema Outreach Support (EOS), Magali Redding, spoke about her experiences of dealing with eczema and the reasons behind founding the charity. Shoba Dawson and Anna Gilbertson hosted the event and facilitated the audience’s questions for the speakers.
For more information, please contact Anna Gilbertson