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Disease-Related Knowledge and Information Needs Among Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients in Korea
Yang-Sook Yoo1, Ok-Hee Cho, Kyeong-Sook Cha
1Yang-Sook Yoo, PhD, RN, is Professor, College of Nursing, Catholic University, Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Ok-Hee Cho, PhD, RN, is Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Jeju National University, Jejudaehak-no, Jeju, Republic of Korea. Kyeong-Sook Cha, PhD, RN, is Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Daegu Haany University, Sincheondong-ro, Suseong-gu, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Insights
Patients with Crohn's disease and colitis have distinct information needs. Tailoring education on disease, medication, and diet to specific conditions like Crohn's disease or colitis can improve patient understanding and treatment effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Patient Education
- Health Literacy
Background:
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) encompasses Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, requiring comprehensive patient understanding for effective management.
- Assessing patient knowledge and information needs is crucial for developing targeted educational interventions in IBD care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and compare disease-related knowledge levels and information requirements between patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
- To inform the development of personalized educational strategies for IBD patients.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 313 IBD patients (169 Crohn's disease, 144 colitis) at a tertiary care hospital in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- Patients completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge of their condition and specific information needs regarding disease, medication, diagnosis, and daily life.
Main Results:
- Crohn's disease patients demonstrated significantly higher mean knowledge scores compared to colitis patients, particularly regarding complications.
- Patients with Crohn's disease also reported greater information needs than colitis patients, with key topics including disease specifics, medications, and diagnosis/operations.
- Preferred information topics across both groups included disease, medication, and diagnosis/operations, with Crohn's disease patients seeking more details on treatment medications, daily living, and pregnancy.
Conclusions:
- Significant differences exist in knowledge and information needs between Crohn's disease and colitis patients.
- Educational interventions should be tailored, prioritizing disease and medication information for Crohn's disease patients and disease and diet information for colitis patients, based on their expressed needs.
- Personalized patient education strategies can enhance the effectiveness of IBD management and improve health outcomes.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to identify disease-related knowledge and information needs of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The 313 patients (Crohn disease: n = 169, colitis: n = 144) presenting to an outpatient gastroenterology clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Seoul, Republic of Korea, were scored on their knowledge of Crohn disease and colitis and their information needs were assessed in the questionnaire. Patients with Crohn disease obtained a higher mean knowledge score than patients with colitis. The patients with Crohn disease had significantly higher scores about complications than patients with colitis. The patients with Crohn disease showed significantly higher mean scores relating to the patients' information needs than patients with colitis. The favorite topics of information needed were disease, medication, and diagnosis/operations. The patients with Crohn disease wanted more information than patients with colitis about medications used for treatment, daily life, and pregnancy. The effectiveness of the training and education given to patients can be maximized in this education system when the information about disease and medications for Crohn disease patients or information about disease and diet for colitis patients is primarily provided according to the degree of the patients' need for information.
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