Public Awareness

The National Rosacea Society (NRS) designates each April as Rosacea Awareness Month and conducts national communications and public relations activities throughout the year to reach the many millions who may unknowingly suffer from this chronic and often life-disruptive disorder. These activities have reached total audiences exceeding 400 million annually. The NRS also maintains a toll-free telephone number and a website where individuals and health professionals can obtain information or assistance. The comprehensive website, rosacea.org, received a Gold Triangle Award from the American Academy of Dermatology for excellence in consumer health information.

Public Education

The NRS produces and supplies information and educational materials in response to thousands of requests from rosacea patients, health professionals and the general public each month. It also publishes Rosacea Review, a newsletter with news and general information on rosacea, edited by a leading dermatologist at Harvard Medical School; a growing number of booklets on key aspects of rosacea to help individuals understand and effectively manage this chronic disorder; a patient diary to help sufferers identify and avoid lifestyle and environmental factors that may aggravate their individual condition; medical and consumer articles; and bibliographies. Additionally, the NRS conducts and publishes patient surveys on trigger factors, symptoms, quality of life issues and other significant aspects of rosacea.

Medical Scientific Education

Because of rosacea's wide range of potential manifestations, the NRS conducts consensus conferences of medical experts to develop standardized criteria for the disease, including its diagnostic features, variants, grades and management options. These criteria are reviewed by medical authorities throughout the United States and worldwide, and are published in medical journals as part of the research grants program to serve as international standards for unifying research, improving clinical diagnosis and providing common terminology for clear and precise communications. The NRS also produces medical education materials, has conducted rosacea research workshops at the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and distributes information on its research grants program to medical science centers worldwide.

Research Grants

Because the cause of rosacea is unknown and consequently there is no cure, the NRS administers a research grants program to encourage and support medical research relating to potential causes and other key aspects of the disorder. The NRS medical advisory board, chaired by the former director of dermatology for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and including three former presidents of the American Academy of Dermatology, reviews grant applications and selects studies for funding. Study results are then presented at medical scientific meetings and published in medical journals, as well as in the NRS newsletter and on its website. This program is funded by individual donations, and grants have been awarded to fund 75 research studies to date.