Background: A considerable number of patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) are undertreated and have inadequate control of their symptoms leading to a hight patient dissatisfaction during their care. The VECUDA study, was conducted by anthropologists in cooperation with dermatologists, aimed to better understand the complexity of the care pathway and the physician-patient relationship by questioning patients with moderate to severe AD.Objectives: The aim was to identify patient's needs and to propose concrete ways of improving the doctor-patient relationship by focusing on the narrative of their affects. Co-designed easy-to-use tools were proposed by these patients.
Methods:The exploratory qualitative study involved 24 patients with moderate-to-severe AD. The study was conducted in two stages: a co-design phase with 4 patients, and a deepening phase with all patients (24), supported by a multidisciplinary scientific committee. During group interviews, conducted using creativity tools, patients' stories related to their experiences of the disease and its management were collected. Results: The VECUDA study, conducted by anthropologists in collaboration with dermatologists and focusing on the experiences of these patients and their journey, described mechanisms of dissatisfaction related to therapeutic management from the point of view of patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Factors that could generate dissatisfaction included the complexity of the care pathway. During this exploratory study emerged an unexpected patient figure, who had a "feeling of a being chosen" in access to a new treatment, the first biologic in the treatment of AD. We are interested here in the experience of the patient's care pathway.
Conclusions:The VECUDA study confirms the value of considering patients' perspective as a lever for improving the doctor-patient relationship. The