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identified themselves as South Asian, were over the age of eighteen, and had had vitiligo
formally diagnosed.
86 South Asian people with vitiligo were invited via letter, from the participating NHS clinics
within the Appearance Research Collaboration (ARC) survey in Bradford and Sheffield. Three
people agreed to participate. An advertisement was also placed on the website of The Vitiligo
Society. Nine people made contact and four people met the inclusion criteria and were
interviewed. The resulting seven participants were all female and ranged in age from 19 to 52
years. All had had vitiligo for over five years and had it on visible parts of their bodies. The
participants described themselves as being either of British Pakistani origin or of Indian or
Pakistani origin.
Data collection
Interviews were conducted using a face-to -face semi-structured interview schedule with six of
the participants and via email with the seventh participant. The semi-structured interview
schedule was devised by the investigators and broadly followed the schedule used by
Thompson et al (2002). Face-to-face interviews took place in an appropriate setting either in
the University or at the participants’ homes depending on preference. All face-to-face interviews
were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Data analysis and interpretation
The transcribed interviews were analysed following a number of steps defined by King (1998).
Each transcript was read several times and an initial template was gradually developed which
was then further developed through an iterative process of comparison between and within
transcripts. Several strategies were used to confirm the emerging themes, including conducting
an audit of the findings, and sending the findings for comment to two of the participants and an
independent British South Asian person living with vitiligo.
RESULTS
In common with the majority of people who have a visible disfigurement, all of the participants
described experiencing intrusive reactions (and in some cases discrimination), and this is a
theme that runs throughout the key themes described below. Five key themes were identified,
which incorporated various inter-related sub-themes.
1. Cultural specific impact of vitiligo
There was a range of direct references to the impact and role of ethnicity and culture in the
participants’ accounts. The majority of accounts were laden with description of culturally specific
material, whilst for two there was a notable absence of such material.
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