The experiences of mothers caring for a child with severe atopic eczema

Atopic eczema is a relatively common disease which frequently occurs during childhood. This paper reports the findings of a research study which explored the effects upon family life of caring for a child with severe atopic eczema. Seventy-seven accounts written by mothers of preschool children with this disease were analysed using qualitative latent content analysis. The focus of this paper is on the implications of the disease for the mothers' role and the additional work generated by the disease. The implications of these findings for nursing practice, in particular the work of health visitors and paediatric community nurses, is discussed. Throughout this paper the term 'nurse' is used to describe both nurses and health visitors.