Awareness, Attitudes, and Prejudices About Psoriasis

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic, incurable disease. Chronic skin diseases, including psoriasis, are a significant issue. The general population often does not have enough information and knowledge about psoriasis. The goal of the present study was to examine the awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and prejudices about psoriasis among fourth-grade high school students and to determine whether there are gender differences in awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and prejudices about psoriasis. A prospective study was conducted in the period between March and December 2023, which included 333 male and female respondents, fourth graders in secondary schools, over eighteen years of age, of both sexes, in the area of the Tuzla Canton. Almost half of the participants (48.14%) did not know what psoriasis is, and three quarters of the respondents (79.62%) did not know anyone suffering from psoriasis. More than two thirds of respondents (68.82%) did not know the date of World Psoriasis Day. Almost half of the respondents (48.76%) would not shake hands with a person with psoriasis, and 11.41% believed that it is transmitted by touch; 14.50% of respondents believed that psoriasis is contagious, while 32.09% of respondents would not associate with a person with psoriasis. We also examined whether there were gender differences among respondents in awareness and knowledge on psoriasis (Hi-test significance = 0.99952), attitudes and prejudices about psoriasis (Hi-test significance = 0.753619), but the results were not statistically significant. Continuous education on psoriasis is needed, which will primarily inform the general public about psoriasis.