Preventing hand eczema in nurses working in the NHS

The SCIN trial was designed to prevent nurses from developing hand dermatitis (eczema). We recruited student and intensive care (ICU) nurses who were at high risk of hand dermatitis. Overall, 35 study sites took part. Each site was randomised (selected at random) to either be in the ‘intervention’ or ‘control’ arm of the trial. Participants in the intervention sites received access to a web‐based intervention to change participants’ behaviour to improve hand care, and a written leaflet with advice on how to prevent dermatitis. The student nurse participants in the intervention arm were provided with personal supplies of hand moisturisers to use during their clinical placements (i.e. when working with patients), and we ensured that the ICU nurses in the intervention arm had access to moisturising creams on the wards. Participants in the control arm only received the written leaflet with advice on how to prevent dermatitis. All participants were reminded to contact their occupational health service early on if they developed hand dermatitis during the study. The main aim of the trial was to see if there was a difference between the proportion of participants in the intervention and control arms who had hand dermatitis at the beginning of the study and at the end. We collected hand photographs at the time of recruitment and after 12 months. Participants completed questionnaires about their skin. Our results showed that there was no evidence that the risk of developing hand dermatitis in the intervention arm was less than the control arm. Linked Article:   Madan et al. Br J Dermatol 2020; 183 :462–470.