This seminar series was launched to provide an open forum for discussion and dialogue on key issues in healthcare and health policy in Japan and around the world. Each session features a global leader in the healthcare field either from Japan or abroad who delivers a lecture on a specific theme, followed by a dialogue with the Chair of Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI).

For this second dialogue session, we welcomed Ms. Allison FitzGerald, Director of Operations at GlobalSkin, who delivered a keynote presentation titled “Transforming Global Understanding and Evaluation of Dermatological Diseases.” Following her lecture, she engaged in a dialogue with Mr. Ryoji Noritake, Chair of HGPI, where they exchanged diverse perspectives on the importance of reflecting and integrating patient voices in health policy decision-making.

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• Reflecting patient voices in policy is essential for creating patient-centered policies. However, incorporating individual experiences into comprehensive policy-making can be arduous.
• GlobalSkin’s activities have made an impact in taking, traditionally what is considered qualitative data , such as emotional and mental burden of dermatological disease, and making it quantifiable and easier for policymakers and healthcare professionals to use.
• By raising awareness of the usefulness of quantitative data and encouraging its use in clinical settings, research, and clinical trials, GlobalSkin’s efforts are expected to gain increasing recognition.

 

■ The video is available (English only)

 

■ Development of Evaluation Indicators for Dermatological Symptoms at GlobalSkin

GlobalSkin led the development of the PRIDD scale to better understand the burden of dermatological conditions and promote personalized care by focusing on their impact on daily life.

In policymaking, the experiences and voices of patients are essential in creating patient-centered policies. However, qualitative data is often based on individual experiences, making it difficult to incorporate diverse viewpoints. GlobalSkin has successfully developed the Patient-Reported Impact of Dermatological Diseases (PRIDD) scale to appropriately quantify the diverse effects of dermatological diseases, which often tend to be viewed as individual and anecdotal.

PRIDD is a multidimensional scale that evaluates how dermatological conditions directly affect patients’ lives, particularly focusing on their impact on daily living. It is structured around four domains: Physical Health, Mental Health, Social Impact, and Life Responsibilities (including economic impact). Each domain includes questions, mostly answered on a five-point scale from 0 (no impact) to 4 (severe impact), thereby allowing for an objective assessment of the disease’s impact on life. The total score ranges up to 63, with higher scores indicating patients having a greater negative impact. This makes it easy to understand and use as a standardized and quantitative data point. Domain-specific scores are also provided, enabling visualization of the areas in which each patient faces the most difficulty.

By referring to these scores, healthcare professionals can compare across patients and provide personalized care tailored to meet individual challenges. In 2023, PRIDD was first used for patient data collection in the Global Research Impact of Dermatological Diseases (GRIDD) international project. Over 4000 patients with over 80 types of dermatological conditions in over 90 countries participated in the survey.

PRIDD, developed based on real-life patient experiences including psychological and social impacts, focuses on life’s burdens and is expected to help address individual patient challenges.

Unlike traditional indices used in dermatology, such as the Dermatology Life Quality Index and Skindex, PRIDD stands out because patients were directly involved in drafting the survey questions, and the delphi process that determined what was most important for the final measure, thus resulting in a more realistic and experience-based tool. Dermatological conditions, aside from their symptoms, often lead to misunderstandings and social stigma due to their appearance, which can significantly impact mental health. Many of the PRIDD items reflect this “psychological burden,” frequently reported by patients.

This enables a more comprehensive approach in clinical settings, not only treating physical symptoms but also addressing mental and social aspects that accompany these symptoms. PRIDD can be used in various scenarios: patient advocacy activities, decision-making support, disease management, and as an outcome measure in clinical trials. As a high-quality PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures) that helps solve individual patient issues, central to the essence of healthcare, it is expected to serve as a model for developing indicators that measures the impact of other diseases.

■ Discussion with the Chair of HGPI

In the latter half of the session, Ms. Allison FitzGerald and Mr. Ryoji Noritake, Chair of HGPI, engaged in a dynamic dialogue, discussing issues such as, bridging gaps between healthcare professionals and patient communities, challenges in data collection, and securing funding. They acknowledged that even healthcare professionals often struggle to fully comprehend how diseases affect patients’ lives. In order to overcome this, GlobalSkin developed an app to help patients communicate their life situations more easily, with plans to expand its use in clinical settings. They also discussed considerations and innovations made to overcome language, cultural, and ethical differences in international surveys. While GlobalSkin has received financial support from the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, they also discussed the challenges of securing funding as an international organization needing to adapt to the systems of various countries.

 

[Event Overview]

• Speaker: Ms. Allison FitzGerald (Executive Director, GlobalSkin)
• Date & Time: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
• Format: Online
• Language: English

 

■ Profile

Ms. Allison FitzGerald (Executive Director, GlobalSkin)
Allison FitzGerald is a seasoned leader with 30 years of experience across a variety of industries, such as health and fitness, medical education, the environment and technology. She has a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics, as well as a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation. Allison is passionate about learning and change, and leverages this passion, along with her leadership skills, to guide organizations through change, opportunity, and disruption.

In her role, she leads the organization’s Global Research on the Impact of Dermatological Diseases (GRIDD) project which has produced the novel Patient-Reported Impact of Dermatological Diseases (PRIDD) measure. She is a thought leader in the arena of generating patient experience data and insights using patient-led measures. Allison has close family and friends who live with challenging skin conditions and therefore has unique first-hand experience in supporting patients with skin diseases. With her love of discovery and commitment to improving the quality of the human life, she is an enthusiastic contributor to the evolution of the patient role across the health ecosystem.

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