HOME: Harmonizing Outcome Measures for Eczema

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Disease State: Atopic eczema / Atopic dermatitis / Eczema

 

Background

HOME is a global initiative involving patients, healthcare professionals, journal editors, regulatory authorities and the pharmaceutical industry to establish a consensus-agreed core outcome set for eczema (homeforeczema.org).

Despite a high burden of atopic eczema, evidence-based clinical care and decision making is limited by the use of multiple, unvalidated outcome measures. A systematic review (Charman et al. 2003), showed that only 27% of the 93 included trials utilize a published severity scale, with the remainder using modified versions of published scales or un-named scales with no data on validity or reliability. Another systematic review (Schmitt et al. 2007) showed that most named outcome measurements for eczema have not been tested sufficiently and have inadequate performances related to validity, reliability, or ease of use.

HOME was founded in 2008 by Professors Hywel Williams and Jochen Schmitt to bring together the eczema research community to standardise outcome measures by agreeing a core outcome set to be included in all eczema clinical trials. 

Scope of the intended COS:

  • Study types: Clinical Trials. A core set for clinical practice and use in registries is also being developed alongside the clinical trials core outcome set
  • Region: Global

 

Project Goal

To develop a consensus-based core outcome set (COS) for clinical trials and a clinical practice set.

 

Current Status

Consensus on core outcome domains and instruments has been achieved. The focus of HOME is now on implementation of the core set. 

HOME Core outcome domains and instruments
 
© 2022 Williams et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2022.03.017 

More information on the HOME Core outcome domains and instruments 

 

Project Leads

Eric Simpson
Eric Simpson
Christian Apfelbacher
Christian Apfelbacher

HOME Executive Members

Eric Simpson, Christian Apfelbacher, Jochen Schmitt, Hywel Williams, Phyllis Spuls, Kim Thomas, Norito Katoh, Yael Leshem, Louise Gerbens, Laura Howells

Home Executive Members: Eric Simpson, Christian Apfelbacher, Jochen Schmitt, Hywel Williams, Phyllis Spuls, Kim Thomas, Norito Katoh, Yael Lesham, Louise Gerbens, Laura Howells

C3 Methods Partner

Laura Howells
Laura Howells

Contact

home@nottingham.ac.uk

 

Publications

  • HOME Roadmap

Home developed the methodological Roadmap for development of a core outcome set and has followed this roadmap (along with other guidance from COMET and COSMIN).

Schmitt J, Apfelbacher C, Spuls PI, Thomas KS, Simpson EL, Furue M, Chalmers J, Williams HC. The Harmonising Outcomes for Eczema (HOME) roadmap: A methodological framework to develop core sets of outcome measurements in dermatology. J Invest Dermatol. 2015;135(1):24-30. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25186228/

  • HOME Core Set
    A summary paper describing the HOME core outcome set from inception to completion 

Williams HC, Schmitt J, Thomas KS, Spuls PI, Simpson EL, Apfelbacher CJ, Chalmers JR, Furue M, Katoh N, Gerbens LA, Leshem YA, Howells L, Singh JA, Boers M; HOME Initiative. The HOME Core outcome set for clinical trials of atopic dermatitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 Jun;149(6):1899-191 https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(22)00389-X/fulltext

 

 

Updated on Date: June 23, 2022