Improving Care for Recently Diagnosed Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: Lessons Learned From a Patient-Centred, Mixed-Method Study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] patients need to deal with the physical and emotional impact of the disease. We aimed to evaluate care for recently diagnosed IBD patients from the patient perspective and assess themes for improvement.

METHODS

A mixed-method study with adult IBD patients 4-15 months after diagnosis was performed. First, relevant themes were identified through semi-structured interviews until data saturation. Next, a questionnaire assessing satisfaction with care [SATI-Q] was developed and validated with 15 items divided into two domains: medical care and information and psychosocial care. Higher scores indicate higher patient satisfaction [0-100].

RESULTS

We interviewed 20 patients. Next, 84/107 patients completed the SATI-Q: 51% female, aged 37 years (interquartile range [IQR 25-58]), 36% Crohn's disease, disease duration 9 months [IQR 6-12] and 74% in clinical remission. The median SATI-Q score was 82 [IQR 72-92]. Patients were more satisfied with medical care than with information and psychosocial care (score 92 [IQR 81-98] vs 74 [IQR 60-90], p < 0.001). Patients were least satisfied with the attention given to IBD-related emotions and information on IBD medication, diet and future perspectives [77, 76, 57 and 54% of patients satisfied]. Patients [81%] preferred spoken information. Only 26-27% preferred brochures and websites.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the SATI-Q questionnaire was developed and validated to assess patient satisfaction with care in early IBD. Our findings suggest that psychosocial care and information on IBD medication, diet influence and future perspectives for recently diagnosed IBD patients require improvement.

Mobile application to monitor inflammatory bowel disease patients on intravenous biologic treatment: a feasibility study

BACKGROUND

Monitoring of IBD patients on intravenous biologic treatment is recommended but time-consuming for patients and nurses. We developed a mobile application (app) to promote self-management and studied its feasibility in clinical practice.

METHODS

Adult IBD patients treated with intravenous infliximab or vedolizumab used the app over four biologic treatments. The app includes information modules and an interactive timeline with notifications of blood tests and health checks before treatment.

RESULTS

In total, 55 patients participated of whom 71% had Crohn's disease and 85% used infliximab. Compliance with health checks and blood tests was 67% before the first biologic treatment and 70, 87, and 80% before the second, third, and fourth treatment, respectively. The median number of times the app was used per treatment varied from 6 to 8 times (≥4 considered sufficient). Patients were satisfied with the app [median VAS score 8 (IQR 7-9)] and remained equally satisfied with IBD care [score 8 (IQR 8-9) before and after app use]. Nurses contacted all patients by telephone before the first biologic treatment, as previous standard care. Before the second, third, and fourth treatment only 47, 35, and 49% of patients were contacted. The majority (92%) wanted to continue using the app after the study.

CONCLUSIONS

Monitoring of IBD patients treated with intravenous biologics using an app is feasible. We saw high compliance, sufficient app use, and high patient satisfaction. Moreover, health-care utilization was reduced and almost all patients preferred using the app over previous standard care (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04254614).