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POLL: Which Aspect of Alopecia Awareness Do You Feel Needs The Most Improvement?
This Alopecia Awareness Month, we want to know your thoughts on necessary action points to improve alopecia awareness. Click here to answer this week's poll.
Which aspect of alopecia awareness do you feel needs the most improvement?
September is Alopecia Awareness Month. Coming directly after Hair Loss Awareness Month in August, September offers a time for reflection on best practices in patient education and support, collaboration between providers and support organizations, and spreading public understanding of stigmatized1 conditions like alopecia and hair loss.
Last month, Dermatology Times® spoke with Matt Leavitt, DO, FAOCD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, as well as an industry leader on hair loss and hair restoration, on the topic of Hair Loss Awareness Month.
"There truly needs to be more awareness on this subject. It really matters to patients," Leavitt said. "And as somebody who has treated every aspect of dermatology and a lot of aspects of cosmetic surgery, if you take the time with a hair loss patient, and you give them really detailed explanations, and you listen and give them options, these are going to be really some of your most gratified patients. Because you're really changing what they see when they look in the mirror every day."
In a study published in JAMA Dermatology,1 investigators found that there were discrepencies in participants' ability to recognize alopecia as a medical condition, with notable stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals with alopecia in several contexts, including work environmentals and social settings.
Throughout the year, including during the month of September, support and awareness organizations like the National Alopecia Areata Foundation are working to raise awareness and empower patients with alopecia on a global scale.
How are you looking to commemorate Alopecia Awareness Month? What efforts do you take on a daily basis to spread awareness and decrease the stigma surrounding hair loss conditions? Share with us by emailing our team at DTEditor@mmhgroup.com.
Reference
- Creadore A, Manjaly P, Li SJ, et al. Evaluation of stigma toward individuals with alopecia. JAMA Dermatol. 2021;157(4):392–398. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.5732
