Welcome to the STRIPE Study website, where you can learn about what our study aims to answer, how our study is designed, and how you can get in touch to find out more.
Background
There is currently no cure for eczema so the treatment goal is control of the disease using the range of treatments available.
The purpose of this study is to explore how topical treatments like moisturisers and steroid creams are prescribed in everyday practice to treat and manage childhood eczema.
Consequently, we will better understand whether current treatment regimens and practices are safe, effective and feasible for families affected by eczema.
This study is led by Prof. Matthew Ridd and Dr. Phuong Hua. Visit the Contacts and Team page to find out more.
This study is part of a larger programme of work funded by the NIHR Research Professorship called Transforming Outcomes for Paediatric allergy In Primary care (TOPIC) which is undertaken by the Centre for Applied Excellence in Skin and Allergy Research (CAESAR).
Our research questions
- What type/potency of topical treatments are used in everyday life to treat/manage children with eczema?
- How are topical treatments, especially emollients and topical corticosteroids, used to treat/manage children with eczema?
- Why are topical treatments for children with eczema used in the ways reported?
- Which emollients and topical corticosteroids, and ways of use, are considered safe and effective for treating eczema by parents/carers and HCPs?
- How are topical treatments used to manage eczema flares?
- Which characteristics of the patient/parent/carer/HCP affect the way topical treatments are used to treat/manage eczema?
How we plan to answer them
The STRIPE study has several components.
GP practices
We plan to recruit 50 GP practices around England, either directly or through the Regional Research Delivery Networks.
Click here to read more about becoming a participating GP site.
Surveys
The participating GP sites will help us to identify survey participants.
We will have 3 surveys in total, one for parents or carers of children with eczema, one for young people with eczema, and another for health care professionals who treat children and young people with eczema.
The surveys will aim to understand what and how topical treatments are used by different people in everyday life.
Interviews
Survey respondents will have the opportunity to put themselves forward to take part in interviews.
Interviews will give us the opportunity to find out why topical treatments are used in the different ways reported in the survey responses.
Routine data
Anonymised data collected routinely from the participating GP practices will provide a quantifiable component to underscore the qualitative data we will collect through the surveys and interviews.