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SUMMARY
• Vitiligo is a condition that results in the visible loss of pigment or colour from the skin.
• Seven in-depth interviews were conducted with British people of South Asian descent or
family of origin living with the skin condition vitiligo.
• The qualitative method of Template Analysis was used.
• Participants described feeling visibly different and all had experienced stigmatization to
some extent.
• For many, cultural specific issues associated with status and practices such as arranged
marriage were intimately related to both stigmatization and social support and
consequently this influenced the individual impact of the condition and the way that this
impact was managed.
• There was a range of distress described within the participant group and many of the
coping strategies used were not dissimilar to the strategies described by other
populations. For example, concealment and avoidance were commonly described.
• The findings of this study broadly support the model developed by ARC but highlight the
need to assess cultural associations of disfigurement. Further, they support the
conclusions of study 6 in suggesting that in addition to individual therapeutic
interventions there may be a need for community interventions aimed at dispelling
myths, and raising awareness of sources of support and treatment.
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