Eczema Outreach Support youth Panel Online workshop
Earlier this year we conducted an in person workshop as part of the research phase of Surface Echoes. This generated some really interesting new data and perspectives to add to the quotes from academic journals that inspired the Surface Echoes project. However, this cohort consisted mostly of university students, and the aim of this project is to amplify the voices of all people living with eczema.
Eczema Outreach Support is a charity supporting 4000 children and young people living with eczema and their families. In July 2023 we joined their online youth panel meeting and were met with six incredible young people from across the UK who gave us some valuable and thought provoking insight into some of the challenges they face living with eczema.
Using Mentimeter as a virtual tool to collect data anonymously in real-time, we were able to collect information about how they associated with themes identified in the previous workshop, audiences that they would like to understand their eczema story, what words described what the perfect future would look like for them, and an object that they felt represented their skin. Some of the reasonings for objects selected were incredibly moving. These included kitchen towel/crepe paper - which represented the flakiness of their skin, a cheese grater, cardboard, rough toys, and an acupuncture mat that represented the feeling they get when their skin is touched, and a pharmacy bag representing the endless prescriptions and costs that people living with eczema have to undertake.
Some of the key themes identified in this introductory workshop included the lack of understanding for what it is like to live with eczema and how eczema impacts all aspects of one’s life including school, work productivity, energy levels, morale and relationships.
We will be using these themes and stories in the project going forward as we begin to work with voice puppetry and collage taking the project into the next stages. We will be working with the EOS Youth Panel again in the future to ensure we are keeping the voices of those living with eczema at the forefront of the project so that their view of an ideal future of living with eczema including “everyone understand[ing]” and “[reduced] stigma” can get closer to becoming a reality.
This work is funded by the ScotPen Wellcome Engagement Award