Letter from the Board President - September 2024

Dear GlobalSkin Members,

I can’t believe that it is September already! With the end of the year just around the corner, I am certain that we will finish 2024 in a very exciting ways we begin putting plans in place for next year.

GlobalSkin continues to grow at a remarkable pace and has seen a 15%-member increase over the past year! Welcome to all of you and thank you for joining this global alliance that serves people living with dermatological conditions. Collectively, our 284 members represent people in 70 countries of the world covering 59 different disease areas. As we continue to ELEVATE you, our members – through capacity and resources building, and networking and connectedness  –  don’t forget to “Save the Date” for the GlobalSkin 2025 Conference. The GlobalSkin Conference will take place April 24 – 27, 2025 in Prague and will give members the chance to expand professional skills and share and learn from each other. Members will have the opportunity to be presenters at the 2025 Conference and in early November, we will open a call for member proposals.  Please consider submitting a proposal to be a presenter at the 2025 Conference If your organization has experience being a CHAMPION with projects, research, or programming in: Mental Health, Advocacy or Creating Successful Collaborations.

Through our efforts to UNITE global dermatology stakeholders to bring about transformative change for patients, I am pleased to announce that after seven years of development and hard work by all our members and staff, that the Patient-Reported Impact of Dermatological Diseases (PRIDD) tool will be officially launched at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) Congress on September 25 in Amsterdam. GlobalSkin, in partnership with researchers at Hamburg and Cardiff Universities and 5600 skin patients, has successfully developed the PRIDD tool which is the first fully validated dermatology impact measure applicable to all skin conditions.

We will now educate and inform clinicians and dermatology researchers about this tool that puts the lived experience of patients at the center of health care decision-making. There will be a PRIDD booth in the exhibition hall of the EADV Congress and GlobalSkin will have a live presentation during the Congress’ scientific program about the development of the measure. We are eager to start sharing PRIDD with dermatologists and researchers and will be connecting with all of you over the coming months so you can encourage your patients and their doctors to use PRIDD to support in informed and shared decision-making.

The GlobalSkin Team will be at the EADV Congress making connections with doctors, delegates, and industry partners on your behalf. We will host a GlobalSkin-Europe Members Meeting, participate in the , co-host a session in the scientific program, and meet with partners about GlobalSkin’s plans for 2025. While at the Congress, GlobalSkin will host a “Skin Matters Reception” highlighting how inclusions of the patient perspective improves.

As the end of the year approaches, GlobalSkin still has much work to do. We will continue to Elevate the voice of the global dermatology patient community, Champion the common interests of people affected by dermatological conditions globally and Unite global dermatology stakeholders to bring about transformative change for your patients. Together, through our dedication and efforts we are creating a world where people with dermatological conditions can be healthy and fulfilled!

Gratefully,

Marc Yale

GlobalSkin Board President

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