Populational perception and fear regarding dermatological diseases

• Grant number: 11/07972-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2011
• End date: June 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Hélio Amante Miot
• Grantee: Mariana Alvares Penha
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This is the first national qualitative investigation regarding the populational perception of different diseases, specially, dermatologic ones. We aim to test the hypothesis that dermatologic disease can inflict similar fears to severe clinical diseases, once skin disease can cause significative impact due to expressive visual aspects, independently of their clinical severity. The main objective is to compare the fear related to some common dermatoses and some severe or prevalent diseases. As well as to investigate this aspect from populational subgroups, like women, eldery, different educational degrees, previous dermatologic consultation, sun exposure and sun protection. To accomplish this project, authors propose an inquiry directed to urban population from Botucatu. The interviewed will be submitted to a semi-structured questionnaire, individually. Diseases will be questioned regarding the fear that these inflict (big, medium or small), moreover, personal habits, and questions about dermatologic consultation will be performed. The subjects will be passer-bys from Botucatu, teenagers and adults (>12 years-old), Brazilians, that agreed to participate of this project. Data will be computed and stratified by gender, age, and scholar degree. Authors will fulfill each stratum (quota sampling), and qualitative analysis will be performed by multivariate techniques. After this analysis and subgroup comparison, a profile of fears regarding dermatologic diseases will be perceived, and this results will substantiate health strategies of treatment, diagnostic and prevention of populational dermatoses. (AU)