{"id":4386,"date":"2020-08-20T19:50:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T17:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atopika.org\/2020\/08\/20\/sos-project-of-institut-atopika\/"},"modified":"2025-01-13T12:21:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T11:21:47","slug":"sos-project-of-institut-atopika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atopika.org\/en\/2020\/08\/20\/sos-project-of-institut-atopika\/","title":{"rendered":"SOS project of Institut Atopika"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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<\/p>

S – Support<\/h3>

O – <\/span>Opening up on stigmatisation and discrimination<\/h3>

S – <\/span><\/span>Social acceptance and inclusion<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At Institute Atopica, we present the SOS project<\/strong><\/span>. The goal of the SOS project is to foster a wholesome approach to the problems if patients living with AD. With the project, we wish to draw attention to the fact that patients with AD and their parents are facing not only a difficult and underestimated condition but also, too often, stigmatisation, discrimination and marginalisation in public. The activities of the SOS project will be dedicated to tackling the psychosocial challenges faced by AD individuals day after day. We wish to bolster the patients so that they will find it easier to deal with the everyday challenges of living with AD.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Atopic dermatitis is not a contagious disease<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Atopic dermatitis is exceedingly widespread, especially amongst children. It affects up to 30 % of children and 5\u201310 % of adults. Despite prevalence of the illness, the number of patients with AD is rising still. With the project, we wish to inform the public that atopic dermatitis isn\u2019t a contagious disease and that AD patients shouldn\u2019t be feared and avoided. It\u2019s key that we address the parents of healthy children, who stop their child from playing with or touching a child suffering from atopic dermatitis.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bullying<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We will pay special attention to bullying<\/strong> that affects countless AD individuals because they look different and consequently have low self-esteem (how I see myself) and low self-respect (how I allow others to treat me).<\/p>

In particular, we want to focus on AD individuals\u2019 childhood experiences with peer bullying<\/strong> because they can have a profound negative effect on the mental health of the AD patients, who are already facing a daunting illness. It\u2019s for this reason that we want to offer child and adult patients with AD the needed help and support for dealing with violence and preserving their wellbeing.<\/p>

In comparison to patients with similar health issues, AD patients are underprivileged because policy makers don\u2019t take AD seriously and don\u2019t treat it as an immune system illness that can have a strong impact on the quality of the patients\u2019 lives. Numbers speak for themselves; patients with atopic dermatitis had a 44% increased odds<\/strong> of suicidal ideation and a 36% increased odds<\/strong> of suicide attempts compared with patients without atopic dermatitis. 1<\/sup><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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SOS project<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The activities of the SOS project fall into the following three categories:<\/p>\n

I) <\/span>Providing professional support for patients with AD.<\/h4>\n

II) <\/span>Educating the public on stigmatisation and discrimination.<\/h4>\n

III) <\/span>Fostering social acceptance and inclusion of people with AD.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Professional support for patients with AD<\/span><\/h4><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At Institute Atopica, we will continue to provide you with all the needed support when it comes to skin care and lifestyle changes in the form of support groups, workshops and advice either on social media or in person. Soon, we hope to provide you with a new option – Consulting the doctor. On our web page, we will enable you to pose questions to a dermatology specialist on issues surrounding your illness. We are well aware of how having access to quick advice can ease our mind in times of personal crisis. In this way, we can reach out to risk groups of adult patients who have withdrawn from the healthcare system.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Collaboration with a psychologist<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We are also happy to announce our collaboration with the psychologist Petra Brne<\/strong>. Petra has atopic dermatitis herself and will work with us on content that focuses on bullying<\/strong>. She will prepare useful advice on how to recognise bullying, confront it and deal with it<\/strong>. In addition, we will organise an online seminar for victims of bullying and parents\/teachers who work with AD children and have experience with peer bullying. If you\u2019re a victim of bullying or it\u2019s your child who has been bullied, please share your story with us and ask us questions on our website. We will do our best to give you the needed support.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Disease awareness<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\r\nMaking the public aware of AD is our key activity because we want AD patients not to feel excluded from society and the public to able to overcome the stigma of AD being a contagious disease. In their daily life, patients still too often experience stigma due to the lack of knowledge on AD because people are afraid that the illness is contagious and behave accordingly. This can lead to the social isolation of the patient and leaves him or her with feelings of loneliness and inferiority and with a sense of being different to others. The patient can conclude that he or she isn\u2019t accepted by others or that others don\u2019t like the patient\u2019s company and thus begins to avoid social interaction.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAt the same time, the lack of knowledge on AD leads to the misunderstanding of the impact that this chronic illness exerts on all aspects of a patient\u2019s life. Because of the scarcity of information and the absence of a wholesome understanding of the illness, others often underestimate how profoundly the illness can deteriorate the quality of life of an AD patient (e.g. \u201cWhat\u2019re you complaining about, it\u2019s just your skin.\u201d) Likewise, it can happen that the patient\u2019s loved ones don\u2019t understand the intensity of the illness\u2019 symptoms. This is often revealed in the well-meaning but completely erroneous pieces of advice given to people with AD (e.g. \u201cDon\u2019t scratch, you\u2019ll damage your skin.\u201d<\/strong>)\r\n\r\n \r\n
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Research shows that informing and educating people about the impact of chronic illnesses can greatly influence the patients\u2019 contentment in life, ways of coping with the illness and social support.<\/span><\/h5>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nAt Institute Atopika, we spread the awareness of AD at our yearly congress, by speaking about the illness in public and through other projects. With this purpose in mind, we have also announced our second literary and visual-arts contest this year<\/strong>. By participating in the contest, the patients can express their pain in the way that suits their wishes and talents most. Don\u2019t forget, art has the potential to heal as well. Science proves that artistic expression helps reduce the levels of inflammatory molecules in the body.<\/strong> How will we use the contest submissions to inform the public about the illness? The submissions will be collected in a book that will serve as a gateway for physicians, teachers, friends and family members to enter the patients\u2019 experiences. The goal of spreading awareness is also to stress that patients and their parents aren\u2019t alone and that there are far too many people who suffer through this illness in solitude and isolation.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Fostering social acceptance and inclusion of people with AD <\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBecause atopic dermatitis is a chronic disease, which means that patients have to live with it for the rest of their lives, it\u2019s very important that they know their illness well and accept it in order to experience contentment and quality living. This is harder than it sounds. The skin is our place of contact with the world; it\u2019s the first thing others notice about us.<\/strong> Patients with atopic dermatitis carry their biggest vulnerability on their sleeves and can\u2019t hide it from others.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Acceptance of atopic dermatitis<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\r\nOne of the key processes that lead to the acceptance of AD is grieving<\/strong>. When a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness, this also means that his or her life will change in important ways. He or she will never be able to live like before. Each patient eventually experiences grief in the following stages:\r\n