World Psoriasis Day is an annual awareness day that takes place on 29 October and sets out to give an international voice to the 125 million people living with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis worldwide. It is organised by the International Federation for Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) and its member groups – the theme this year is ‘Breaking barriers for people with psoriasis’.

Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are severe chronic, immune-mediated diseases that are incurable, highly visible and often painful. Both conditions are associated with a range of physical and psychological burdens, such as anxiety and depression, and can make even the most simple of daily activities difficult.^1,2 A recent World Health Organization (WHO) Resolution on Psoriasis and Global Report on Psoriasis has stated that psoriasis is a serious non-communicable disease (NCD) in need of greater public awareness of its immune-mediated inflammatory nature, psychosocial impact, and link to psoriatic arthritis and other serious NCDs.³

World Psoriasis Day provides the opportunity for patient associations around the world to elevate the voice of people with psoriasis and provide education on these debilitating conditions through a series of regional and local events and initiatives.

Janssen is investing in finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure diseases for immune and inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Recently, Janssen has been working with a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and patient advocacy representatives across Europe to better understand how people with conditions like psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis can be provided with better care. One output of this ongoing collaboration was the publication of the review article ‘Promoting patient centred care in PsA’ in The Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, which presents a series of calls to action for improving the patient experience from diagnosis through to long-term disease management.