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Internet-based automated counseling led to improved skin care in students with acne

Internet-based acne education that included automated counseling did not improve acne severity or quality of life compared with standard website-education among high school students, but it led to improved acne skin care regimens, according to recently published study results.

April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, and colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial between March 27 and June 27, 2014, which included 98 Northern California high school students aged 14 to 19 years with moderate acne.

April W. Armstrong

The students were randomly assigned to view either a standard educational website (n=49) or an automated-counseling website (n=49). The standard educational website featured acne information about the pathogenesis and prevention of acne, over-the counter and prescription acne medications, and appropriate anti-acne skin care regimens. The automated-counseling website included similar information, supplemented with automated counseling in the form of pre-recorded videos of a virtual counselor. Children’s Dermatology Quality Index (DCLQI) scores were used to measure acne-related quality of life.

At baseline there was no significant difference in mean total acne lesion count between the standard-website cohort (21.33) and the automated-counseling-website cohort (25.33). After a 12-week follow-up, the automated-counseling-website group had a greater mean improvement in total acne lesions (3.90 lesions) compared with the standard-website group (0.20), but this was not significant. There also was no difference in mean improvement in DCLQI scores between standard-website (0.17) and automated-counseling-website (2.94) cohorts (P=.71).

Recommended anti-acne skin care routine was maintained or adopted by 43% of the automated-counseling-website cohort, compared with 22% of the standard-website cohort (P=.03).

“Internet-based education using automated counseling appears to be an effective tool for promoting skin care behavior in adolescents with acne,” the researchers concluded. “The long-term effect on clinical outcomes can be explored in future studies.” – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.