Ana G. Méndez University, Carolina Campus.
Hispanic Alliance for Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, University of Puerto Rico, and Third Mission Institute, Carlos Albizu University.
P R Health Sci J. 2021 Sep;40(3):147-150.
Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune condition which affects hair follicles provoking their loss. Although the cumulative incidence of AA in the United States is estimated at 2.1%, the number of people living with this condition in Puerto Rico is unknown. In addition, little has been published about people in Puerto Rico who have this condition and its impact on health. We conducted a needs assessment study to help reduce this information gap and address the perceived needs of people living with AA in Puerto Rico.
A needs assessment study was conducted with a non-experimental, descriptive, transversal design. A 40-item questionnaire was available through the Google Forms platform. Descriptive analysis was conducted.
Most of the participants were women, had AA universalis, were diagnosed (on average) at 19 years of age, and were receiving treatment at the time of the survey. Most of the participants reported having both access to information or education about alopecia and the support of their family and friends but professed needing informational support. In particular, they wanted to find out about treatment options for their alopecia.
Gender and time since the onset of AA appear to be important variables that must be considered when conducting future studies and interventions with this population. These future studies and interventions should address the informational support needs of people living with AA.
斑秃（AA）是一种影响毛囊导致其丧失功能的自身免疫性疾病。虽然据估计美国 AA 的累积发病率为 2.1%，但波多黎各患这种疾病的人数尚不清楚。此外，关于波多黎各患有这种疾病的人群及其对健康的影响，相关出版物也很少。我们进行了一项需求评估研究，以帮助缩小这一信息差距，并满足波多黎各斑秃患者的需求。
采用非实验性、描述性、横断研究设计进行需求评估研究。通过谷歌表单平台提供了一份包含 40 个问题的问卷。进行了描述性分析。
大多数参与者为女性，患有广泛性斑秃，平均在 19 岁时被诊断出患有这种疾病，且在调查时正在接受治疗。大多数参与者表示他们能够获得关于脱发的信息或教育，且得到了家人和朋友的支持，但他们表示需要信息支持。特别是，他们希望了解脱发的治疗选择。
性别和斑秃发病时间似乎是在对这一人群进行未来研究和干预时必须考虑的重要变量。这些未来的研究和干预应该满足斑秃患者的信息支持需求。
