When Patients Get Lost
Healthcare · Behavioural Research · ES / IT / DE

In atopic dermatitis, one of the most persistent clinical puzzles is not the disease itself - it’s the patient who tries one treatment, loses confidence, and quietly stops engaging with the medical system altogether. The industry calls them lost patients. The question is why they get lost and how can they get re-engaged.

This multi-country study explored the behavioural and cultural barriers behind consultation drop-off and treatment non-adherence, across three European markets with meaningfully different healthcare systems, cost structures, and cultural relationships with medical authority.

Using COM-B and Self-Determination Theory frameworks, we conducted in-depth interviews with patients, dermatologists, GPs, and retail pharmacists - mapping the full journey from first symptom to disengagement. The research revealed that the barriers were rarely clinical. They were structural, cultural, and emotional - and they varied significantly by market in ways that a single-country study would have missed entirely.

Respondents: atopic dermatitis patients · dermatologists · GPs · retail pharmacists
Methods: IDIs · cross-cultural behavioural analysis (COM-B & SDT framework)
Markets: Spain · Italy · Germany