This month, we are exploring the experiences of children and young people living with eczema. 

Christine Roxburgh (CEO of charitable organisation Eczema Outreach Support)and Dr Ella Guest(Research Fellow from the Centre for Appearance Research) join us to discuss the psychosocial impact of living with eczema, as well as current and future support available from Eczema Outreach Support. 

Dr Daniela Ghio (Lecturer in Psychology from the University of Manchester) also discusses her recent research with adolescents and young people living with eczema and a new website designed to support individuals with eczema. 

To find out more about support for individuals with eczema: 
- Eczema Support Outreach website: www.eos.org.uk 

- Eczema Care online website: https://www.eczemacareonline.org.uk/en?language_set=1  

To find out more about research on this topic:
- Views and experiences of managing eczema: systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjd.19299

- ‘It's like the bad guy in a movie who just doesn't die’: a qualitative exploration of young people's adaptation to eczema and implications for self-care https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjd.18046 

- Psychosocial needs of adolescents and young adults with eczema: A secondary analysis of qualitative data to inform a behaviour change intervention  https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjhp.12467 

-Taking charge of eczema self-management: a qualitative interview study with young people with eczema https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/1/e044005.abstract 


To find out more about the Centre for Appearance Research, follow us: 
•	On Twitter: twitter.com/CAR_UWE 
•	On Instagram: www.instagram.com/car_uwe/ 
•	On Facebook: www.facebook.com/AppearanceResearch 


Please share, subscribe, rate and review. It really does mean a lot. 
Thank you! 

Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com 
Cover photo by RF Studio from Pexels 
Episode developed and produced by Maia Thornton

75: Living with Eczema

This month our very own Appearance Matters the podcast co-host, Bruna Costa, joins us to share insights from her doctoral research project, conducted as part of her Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. 

Bruna discusses the importance of increasing representation of marginalised groups within visible difference research and working closely with community partners. Bruna also shares novel insights from her research focussed on the experiences of UK Somali adults with visible facial differences. 

A message from Bruna: Thank you to the individuals who took part in this research, and shared their experiences so openly, and our community collaborators, who were instrumental to the project. Thank you to the funders of this work, the Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) Foundation. Thank you to my doctoral supervisors, Heidi Williamson, Diana Harcourt and Habib Naqvi.


To find out more about Bruna's research, her thesis will soon be available on the UWE repository. 

To find out more about Nura Aabe's work: 
BBC news article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-57684958

Bristol TEDxBristol talk:
https://tedxbristol.com/about/person/nura_aabe

To find out more about similar research:
South Asian perceptions and experiences of Cleft Lip and Palate phttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1748681510002317?casa_token=jMz0v96LLW4AAAAA:KT8CKBNXrq-Azy2Z8iUOfPeBbCSShZNJf1pnjCpLLFddlaxcwgepzV2NjoGnRINIyp_WFN3X7A

Bangladeshi women's perceptions and experiences of neurofibromatosis. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10897-007-9097-0

South Asian women's perceptions and experiences of vitiligo. https://academic.oup.com/bjd/article/163/3/481/6642583

Chinese women's perceptions and experiences of skin conditions.
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/142734/2/Thompson.%20Cultural%20nuances%20of%20skin%20shame.pdf

South Asian women perceptions and experiences of breast cancer.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pon.4187?casa_token=6U6uTSKsSrsAAAAA%3ANZ3BSF0S_Wb3pYcKk1Mb0LBefd2dP0YjQEFMjRhdvlQfpQUQb7kYtqQ1xvPcNkD-Y9FWhUMk7RAU7zQ

77: Experiences of UK Somali adults with visible facial differences

In this episode, we are joined by some of the members of the CARE project team. CARE stands for Craniofacial Microsomia: Accelerating Research and Education and is aimed at investigating the psychosocial impact and healthcare burden of Craniofacial Microsomia. 

CAR's own Dr Nicola Stock (Associate Professor), Dr Alessia Johns (Paediatric Psychologist, Children's Hospital Los Angeles), Lazer Schefer (Patient advocate), and Amy Schefer (Parent advocate) join Maia to discuss this exciting project and the importance of conducting impactful research into rare conditions.

To find out more about the CARE project or to take part in the research, click here: https://linktr.ee/careforcfm

To keep up to date with the Centre for Appearance Research, follow us on
• X: twitter.com/CAR_UWE
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/car_uwe/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AppearanceResearch

Episode developed and produced by Maia Thornton.

87: CARE in Craniofacial Microsomia

Welcome back to Appearance Matters the Podcast!

In this episode, we share the recording of one of our Appearance Matters 10 Keynote talks, delivered by Prof. Kathleen Bogart. 

Kathleen's keynote was entitled: 'Putting a Face to Appearance Research: Representation of understudied visible differences'. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did! 

If you'd like to find out more about Kathleen's work, check out the links below: 
- Disability Advocacy and Research Network (DARN) https://darndisability.org/
- Kathleen's Psychology Today blog https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/disability-is-diversity
- Kathleen's journal article on self-relevant research https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-024-00056-x 
- Kathleen's recipe blog! https://perfectrecipeproject.blogspot.com/ 

To find out more about the Centre for Appearance Research, follow us:
• On X: twitter.com/CAR_UWE
• On Instagram: www.instagram.com/car_uwe/
• On Facebook: www.facebook.com/AppearanceResearch

Please share, subscribe, rate and review. It really does mean a lot.
Thank you!

Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com
Cover photo provided by Kathleen Bogart
Episode developed and produced by Maia Thornton

91: Putting a Face to Appearance Research - Kathleen Bogart AM10 keynote

This month Maia speaks to local Bristol artist, Gail Reid, and visible difference advocate, Amit Ghose, about a project which focussed on representing visible difference through art. Gail was commissioned to paint a portrait of Amit which was unveiled at CAR's AM10 conference in June 2024. 

We discuss the process of Gail, Amit and CAR working together to create the portrait and reflect on the unveiling. 

To learn more about Gail's work:
Gail's online portrait gallery and stories behind them: https://www.gailreidartist.com/portrait-gallery
Gail's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/gailreidartist
Gail's Instagram account: www.instagram.com/gailreidartist 

To learn more about Amit's work: 
Amit's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amitghosenf1
Amit's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/amitghosenf1

To see the livestream recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu8SPzjIEZ4

95: Visible Difference Through Art

Welcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Maia speak to Prof. Di Harcourt about the development of The Visible Difference Support Hub, a brand new website that is aims to provide easy access to evidence-based support for people with visible differences and their families which has been developed at CAR. Di and Maia talk about the research that has gone into creating these support resources, the development process of the support hub, and the kind of materials people can find on the website. 

If you’d like to explore or share The Visible Difference Support Hub please follow this link: https://visibledifferencesupporthub.com/ 

If you’ve spent time on The Visible Difference Support Hub and would like to provide us with some feedback, please click here: https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_57m45grMC7LHeWa 

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Centre for Appearance conference, Appearance Matters 11 (9th – 11th of June 2026) click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference  

Appearance Matters 11 abstract submissions are now open and the deadline is the 30th of October! 


102. The Visible Difference Support Hub

Appearance Matters: The Podcast! Is the official podcast of the Centre for Appearance Research - a world leading research centre investigating body image and appearance psychology research, based at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK.

Hosted and produced by Nadia Craddock, Bruna Costa, Maia Thornton, and Abbi Mathews.

New music by: https://toplinefilm.com

New tracks tagged #VisibleDifference