Hair Loss PSP questions in review stage
Published: 14 October 2015
By Jackie Tomlinson - PSP steering committee member.
In November 2014, the Hair loss PSP, funded by Alopecia UK and initiated by the British Hair and Nail Society, closed its initial on-line survey. We had 912 survey responders – 81 percent were completed by patients, or carers, and 12.6 percent by healthcare professionals or organisations. Following exclusions for out-of-remit questions, 1823 research questions remained. The steering committee has decided to have two ‘Top Ten’ research priority lists for ‘Alopecia Areata‘ and ‘Other Hair loss disorders’. Alopecia Areata includes totalis, universalis & barbea. Other includes all scarring hair loss types, androgenic hair loss (female and male pattern) & chemotherapy induced.
The questions have undergone taxonomy, repetitive questions have been merged and formatted into research questions using the PICO principle. We are currently finishing the literature search and a batch of PICO questions are being reviewed by a lay committee.
By mid September we enter the interim stage and will ask our partners, patients and clinicians to rank around 50 questions for either 'Alopecia Areata' or 'Other hair loss'. We will hold two final workshops scheduled for November and agree the top ten priorities for ‘Alopecia Areata' and 'Other hair loss' disorders. Central to this whole process has been the clinical leadership of Dr Abby Macbeth and administration support by Jen Chambers and Sheela Upadhyaya who have supported the steering group throughout this process.