Development and pilot evaluation of a theory-based self-care program for late school-aged children with atopic dermatitis: a quasi-experimental study in South Korea

PURPOSE: This pilot study aimed to develop and conduct an initial evaluation of a self-care improvement program for older school-aged children with atopic dermatitis (AD). METHODS: A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used with 20 children in grades 4-6 diagnosed with AD. The experimental group (n=12) received a 5-week Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB)-based program, which included five 40-minute sessions for children and one 50-minute session for mothers. The control group (n=8) received usual care. Data was collected at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 4 weeks post-intervention. Outcome variables included AD knowledge, motivation for AD self-care, self-efficacy for managing AD, self-care behaviors, and AD severity. Generalized estimating equations were used for analysis. RESULTS: Time-by-group interaction effects were observed for AD knowledge (p