Use of the Dermatology Life Quality Index suite of patient reported outcome measures in skin neglected tropical diseases

Skin neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect nearly 1 billion people worldwide, contributing to significant physical and psychological morbidity. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) suite of patient reported outcome measures is widely used to assess impact of skin diseases on individuals’ health related quality of life, but has not been validated for use in skin NTDs. The new strategic framework for control of skin NTDs identified the socioeconomic and mental health impact of skin NTDs as research gaps to be addressed. Robust assessments of HRQoL will be an essential part of this research and will require validated appropriate tools including the DLQI.