Impact of Educational Aid in Pharmacist Counselling on Quality of Life in Psoriasis Patients

Introduction: Psoriasis can negatively affect quality of life (QOL). Counselling psoriasis patients may improve their condition and enhance their QOL. Thus, the objective of our study was to measure the impact of educational aid in pharmacist counselling on QOL in psoriasis patients. Methodology: We conducted a pre-post intervention study from September 2017 to February 2018. Inclusion criteria were adult psoriasis patients receiving treatment in Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, Kelantan, Malaysia. Patients who participated in Pharmacy Value Added Service were excluded. A flipchart containing information on the disease and treatment for psoriasis was developed and pilottested on 20 subjects. During the first visit, patients were instructed to complete the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire followed by pharmacist counselling. Post-assessment using the same questionnaire was done after 2 months. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: We recruited 70 patients which consisted of 37 (52.9%) male and 33 (47.9%) female. Overall, there was a statistically significant improvement in QOL following intervention based on DLQI score [8.64(5.66) vs 5.60(5.35), 95% CI (2.23, 3.86), p<0.001]. During the first visit, majority rated psoriasis had moderate effect on their QOL (34.3%, n=24) while after intervention, most of the patients found that psoriasis had little effect on their QOL (37.1%, n=26). Conclusion: We noted that the use of educational aid as a part of pharmacist counselling could lead to improvement in QOL among psoriasis patients. Therefore, it should be utilized in other facilities as well.