Developing recommendations for promoting wellbeing in individuals with alopecia areata: a modified Delphi study

Develop recommendations for multidisciplinary, multisector care providers involved in supporting individuals with alopecia areata (AA) to promote their well-being of these individuals. AA is a condition that causes hair loss on the scalp and, for some, the head or whole body and is associated with difficulties in psychosocial adjustment.

A modified Delphi consensus study with three rounds: round 1 was a qualitative survey to generate recommendations; round 2 involved a rating survey to work towards consensus on important items to retain and round 3 asked panellists from four different support roles to establish the most relevant items for their respective roles.

The UK, across healthcare, charitable and private health and mental health sectors.

Panellists held two forms of expertise. One group consisted of experts in support roles, comprising medical professionals (general practitioners and dermatologists), mental health professionals, peer facilitators and trichologists. All were selected due to their experience of working with individuals who have AA. The other group consisted of experts by experience, namely adults living with AA who had some experience of receiving support from the above care providers. 48 panellists contributed to round 1 (22 experts by support role, 29 experts by experience and 3 with dual roles), 46 to round 2 (21 experts by support role, 27 experts by experience and 3 with dual roles) and 23 experts by support role completed round 3.

In round 1, data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. In round 2, panellists rated the importance of all recommendation items on a single 1-5 scale. Consensus was determined by ≥80% agreement between panellists that items were moderately or very important.

Multiple candidate recommendations were generated from round 1, and following round 2, all but one were retained in the list presented in round 3. Items rated as relevant to all care providers in round 3 included 'Validate (and explore) the emotional impact of AA', 'Respect and work with individuals' chosen coping strategies (where no clear harm is caused)' and 'There should be a holistic, multi-support-role and multisector approach to psychological support'. There was notable overlap in the recommendation principles generated across each support role, but the details of how these can be delivered by each group differed. There were also a number of unique recommendations for each support role.

Medical professionals, mental health professionals, trichologists and peer support facilitators can each play a role in promoting the psychological well-being of individuals with AA. The distinct roles and skill sets of each group point to the need for a multidisciplinary approach to supporting the well-being of affected individuals.