Hand eczema treatment: Change behaviour with text messaging, a randomized trial

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Digital Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Hand eczema, particularly irritant contact dermatitis, is a prevalent condition requiring effective management strategies.
• Current treatments emphasize irritant avoidance and topical medications.
• The study explored the potential of text messaging interventions for improving hand eczema care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of text messaging in enhancing preventive behaviors and medication adherence for hand eczema patients.
• To assess the impact of SMS reminders on hand eczema severity and patient compliance.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 81 hand eczema patients at Istanbul Training and Research Hospital.
• Patients were assigned to either an SMS group receiving text message reminders or a non-SMS control group.
• Evaluations of hand eczema severity, treatment compliance, and behavioral adherence were performed at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks.

Main Results:

• The SMS group showed a significantly greater reduction in Hand Eczema Severity Index scores (70.2%) compared to the non-SMS group (38.9%) after 8 weeks (P=.017).
• Text message interventions led to increased moisturizer usage among patients.
• No statistically significant differences were observed in other preventive behaviors between the groups.

Conclusions:

• Text messaging interventions are effective in improving overall treatment success for hand eczema.
• SMS reminders specifically enhance the frequency of moisturizer application in hand eczema management.
• Digital health tools like text messaging show promise for supporting chronic condition management in dermatology.