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SUMMARY
• Nine focus group interviews were conducted with sixty-three participants representing
four South Asian communities on the topic of facial disfigurement and visible difference.
• A number of themes were raised including definitions of disfigurement, cause of visible
differences, the role of the family, reactions from others, social exposure, cultural
differences and medical interventions.
• Religious beliefs and cultural practices cut across the majority of themes that emerged.
They were associated with views about the cause and origin of the visible difference as
well as the consequences of that difference.
• The focus group interviews highlighted the need to implement interventions to reduce
the negative aspects of visible difference and disfigurement. These included raising
knowledge and understanding of the difference amongst the general (minority ethnic)
populations as well as improving the lived experience of those living with the difference
and their family.
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