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Automated online counseling shows promise for adolescents with acne
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Internet-based acne education that included automated counseling was not superior in improving acne severity or quality of life vs. standard website education, according to study findings.
However, high school students who viewed the automated counseling website reported having maintained or adopted a recommended anti-acne skin care regimen.
April W. Armstrong
“Acne is prevalent among adolescents and is associated with significant psychosocial burden. Despite this, evidence of what comprises effective educational methods for patients with acne is lacking,” April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, of the department of dermatology at the University of Colorado, and colleagues wrote.
During a 3-month period, researchers sought to compare the effectiveness of the standard educational website with that of an automated counseling website that consisted of online counseling, simulating face-to-face encounters to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life among adolescents with acne. Both websites included suggestions for preventing acne, medications and skin care routines.
Follow-up was at 12 weeks in a local inner-city high school. There were 95 students aged at least 13 years with mild to moderate acne included in the final analysis.
Primary outcome was total acne lesion count and secondary measures were general skin care behavior and the Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index scores.
Results indicated that mean total acne lesion count was not significantly different between the two groups at baseline (21.33 vs. 25.33), and mean improvements in acne lesion count did not significantly differ between the standard website group and the automated counseling website group (0.2 vs. 3.9). In addition, mean improvement in Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index scores did not significantly differ between the standard website group vs. the automated counseling website group (0.17 vs. 0.39).
However, when compared with the standard website group, more participants in the automated counseling website group maintained or adopted a recommended anti-acne skin care routine after 12 weeks (22% vs. 43%; 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 wrote. “The long-term effect on clinical outcomes can be explored in future studies.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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