The 4-year Chronic Disease Awareness and Engagement grant will support NEA's project titled "Atopic Dermatitis is More Than a Skin Disease: Raising Awareness and Improving Care."

The National Eczema Association (NEA) was recently awarded a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The 4-year Chronic Disease Awareness and Engagement grant will support NEA's project titled "Atopic Dermatitis is More Than a Skin Disease: Raising Awareness and Improving Care."

NEA's grant-funded project will increase awareness and knowledge of the prevalence, significance and seriousness of AD as more than a skin disease among public health professionals, primary care physicians, affected patients and their families and the public.

"This is a pivotal moment for NEA and for the eczema community," says Julie Block, President and CEO, in a news release. "One in 10 individuals will experience AD during their lifetime and yet the significant impact of AD has been underappreciated. The CDC grant will enable us to greatly expand our efforts to increase awareness of the seriousness of AD and mitigate the detrimental impacts to patients, families and society."

A chief focus of the project will be to highlight the need for timely and accurate diagnosis. Undiagnosed and/or uncontrolled AD is a primary driver of AD disease burden, negative impacts to overall physical and mental health, and increased healthcare utilization. Multiple factors can contribute to the receipt of a timely diagnosis, including patient appreciation of the significance and severity of symptoms to seek care, and the ability of healthcare providers in primary and specialty settings to appropriately identify AD across diverse individuals and clinical presentations. NEA's efforts will support ongoing disease control to alleviate health burden and minimize detrimental impacts to quality of life, providing practical management tools and resources for patients and community-based healthcare providers.

"Today we have a much better understanding of the multidimensional burden of AD as well as a growing number of effective treatments for AD of all severities," says Wendy Smith Begolka, Chief Strategy Officer at NEA and lead for the CDC-funded project. "With increased awareness, improved diagnosis and optimal disease management, the lives of patients and families can be significantly changed for the better."

In addition to improving awareness and knowledge of the significance and seriousness of AD, the grant will allow NEA, with other collaborators, to develop regional estimates of AD prevalence, affected patient populations and current care practices that will enhance targeted education and awareness efforts, address existing healthcare disparities in AD care and outcomes and improve future AD-related data collection efforts.

The grant funding began on September 29, 2023.