Assessment tools

A variety of tools may be used to aid more effective assessment of the condition of the skin and patients responses to it; this includes physical assessment of lesions and clinical severity and psychological assessment. The former is discussed here and the latter (mainly diseaserelated quality of life measures) is examined in Psychological and social aspects of skin care. Tools that examine the impact on the family, for example The Dermatitis Family Impact Questionnaire (Lawson et al., 1998), reflect the wider psychosocial impact of chronic skin disease.