2018 Annual report
The aim of our group is to promote research into the diagnosis and management of the skin problems commonly seen in primary care, through networking, collaboration, and on-line discussion.
As in previous years, the focus of the group’s activity has been its annual meeting in London, on 2 February 2018. It was hosted by the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (University of Nottingham) at the British Association of Dermatologists. It was attended by Matthew Ridd (chair), Miriam Santer, Ingrid Muller, Duncan Platt, Athene Ip, Daniella Ghio, Bethan Treadgold, Emma Teasdale, Emma Le Roux, Kim Thomas, Jo Chalmers, Esther Burden-Teh, Nick Francis, Gail Hayward, Amanda Roberts, Karlijn van Halewijn, Theo Verheij, Mitesh Patel and Anna Lalonde. Attendees represented a range of clinical and methodological backgrounds, from a range of institutions and from generalist and specialist care. We were particularly pleased to welcome three PhD students and colleagues from The Netherlands. There were 14 presentations, with discussion, covering: a range of common primary care skin conditions (acne, eczema, psoriasis, impetigo, cellulitis, vitiligo and lichen sclerosus), at a variety of stages (proposals, submissions made for funding, recently completed).
We had an additional, allergy-focused “fringe” meeting on the first day of the SAPC annual conference, also in London. This was attended by Matthew Ridd (chair), Bob Boyle, Lavanya Diwakar, Liz Angier, Beth Stuart, Mohammad Razai, Mitesh Patel, Siang Ing Lee, Kristina Newman and Grace Brocklehurst. Again, those present represented a range of institutions and backgrounds. Over the course of two hours, three studies were presented and discussed (Trial of Eczema Allergy Screening Tests; Beliefs, attitudes and understanding of adolescents with a food allergy; and Incidence and prevalence of paediatric allergies in primary care). It was agreed that a separate primary care allergy group should be convened, which has been established as an NIHR SPCR working group.
The group currently has 61 members on the email list, of which ~15 are active in primary care dermatology research. It is affiliated to the Clinical Research Network Dermatology Specialty Group. As well as being notified of the annual meeting and any other topics of interest, group members also now receive a monthly email digest of primary-care relevant research publications. This is provided by Douglas Grindlay and colleagues at the Centre for Evidence Based Dermatology.
New members are always welcome, especially researchers outside of the UK. The group benefits from a strong relationship with the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine and is always looking for ways to support the development of research relevant to primary care through partner organisations.
We will next meet on 8 February 2019, in London. As of August 2018, the running of the group has been handed over to Dr Emma Le Roux. Matthew would like thank Emma for taking on this role and the group for their support since its inception in 2011.