Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory and relapsing cutaneous disease characterized by pruritus, cutaneous inflammation, and transepidermal water loss. The incidence of AD in industrialized nations has increased by 2- to 3-fold over a 30-year span, and it is estimated to affect between 15% and 30% of children in industrialized nations. Although most children with AD will “outgrow” the disease, AD has additionally been reported to affect up to 10% of adults, and recent research suggests that AD is under-recognized in this group.

Furthermore, the increasing incidence of AD and poor recognition of the disease in some patient groups is a public health concern. AD symptoms and its daily management cause significant effects on quality of life for both patients and caregivers. AD is associated with an increase in other atopic manifestations as well as with serious comorbidities that can greatly affect overall patient health and wellbeing. As such, timely and adequate treatment of AD is essential for helping to promote better long-term outcomes and quality of life and may help prevent the development of other atopic conditions. It is recommended that clinicians adequately communicate with their patients and caregivers to adequately manage AD, however, studies have shown that clinicians and patient views do not always align when it comes to treatment goals and course of therapy, thus perpetuating the suboptimal outcomes with AD. These challenges are exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted the traditional delivery of care for several chronic diseases, including AD. Clinicians and patients now have to increasingly communicate via telehealth services, which comes with its own sets of challenges.

The purpose of this program is to bring together clinicians and patients in order to increase clinician awareness about these care disparities, empower patients and caregivers, and ultimately improve clinician-patient communication and overall patient outcomes.