Research project: Acne Care Online
The Acne Care Online programme aims to aims to support young people with acne to use effective treatments and reduce the overuse of long-term antibiotics
The Acne Care Online programme aims to aims to support young people with acne to use effective treatments and reduce the overuse of long-term antibiotics
Acne is very common, can lead to distress and depression and may lead to permanent scarring. Treatment of acne is a major cause of antibiotic use amongst young people, driving antibiotic resistance. Evidence suggests that topical treatments (treatments applied directly to the skin) are effective treatments for most acne. Effective topical treatments are available from pharmacies without a prescription, but many people are unaware of these and buy cosmetic products that don’t really help instead. People often give up with topical treatments because they are not given full advice on how to use them. For example, they don’t know how to reduce the risk of stinging and redness and that it takes several weeks for treatments to start working. Not using effective treatments can prolong the acne as well as increasing the risk of scarring.
The Acne Care Online programme of research aims to:
Local Investigators: Miriam Santer (co-lead), Ingrid Muller (co-lead), Beth Stuart, Paul Little, Lucy Yardley, Nick Francis, Gareth Griffiths
Study team: Dr Mary Steele Research Fellow, Dr Rosie Essery Senior Research Fellow and Becky Le Feuvre Programme Administrator.
Co-applicants: Kim Thomas (Nottingham), Alison Layton (Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust), Matthew Ridd (University of Bristol), Tracey Sach (University of East Anglia), Sinead Langan (London School of Hygiene), Mahendra Patel (University of Bradford), Andrew Thompson (Cardiff & Vale University LHB), Irene Soulsby (public contributor), Sophie Dove (public contributor)
Funder: NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research NIHR202852
Duration: 01/03/2022 to 28/02/2027
Twitter: @AcneCareOnline
Contact: Miriam Santer
This study is being conducted by the Primary Care Research Centre.