Assessing coping, loneliness, resilience and partner burden in patients with skin conditions: protocol for a multicentre cross-sectional study across 23 dermatology centres in 15 European countries

Abstract: Members of the European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry (ESDaP) are interested in the connection between the psyche and presence and severity of skin diseases. Two former multicentre studies initiated by ESDaP-members focused on the psychological burden of patients with skin diseases in comparison to healthy skin controls. The previous studies focused on depression, anxiety, stress, perceived stigmatisation and body dysmorphia. The main objective of the present study is to assess coping, loneliness and resilience in patients with skin conditions and to compare them with healthy skin controls. In the literature, these aspects have rarely been investigated in patients with skin conditions. A secondary aim is to examine the impact of the skin disease on the patient’s partner and to analyse the factors associated with this possible impact on quality of life (QoL) (QoL of patients, socio-demographic, disease-related and psychological parameters).