Adolescent and caregiver perceptions of addressing mental health in inflammatory bowel disease.
Catalina Berenblum Tobi, Maihan Vu, Maria E Díaz-González de Ferris and 3 others
PMID 38530035WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with IBD and caregivers said stigma, trust, and who was present shaped mental health talks.
Direct, nonjudgmental questions were valued, but written screening alone was not enough. Ask each patient how they want these conversations.
Key findings
01Stigma was described by adolescents and caregivers as a barrier to open mental health conversations.
02Adolescents and caregivers said trust in the provider and who was present changed how freely mental health could be discussed.
03Adolescents and caregivers said providers should ask about mental health directly and nonjudgmentally, and that screening forms should not replace conversation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done at one pediatric IBD program in one geographic area, so it may not reflect other clinics or regions. Only 27 interviews were completed from 79 families contacted, and participants may have been more comfortable discussing mental health than average. Interviews were by telephone because of pandemic restrictions, not the planned in-person focus groups. The team did not ask how prior psychosocial treatment may have shaped perspectives. Adolescents did not rate disease severity, so people with more severe disease may have been less likely to take part. The study reports perceptions and themes, not effects of any screening or communication method on mental health or IBD outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not name a funder.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that a particular mental health screening approach works. They are perceptions from 27 interviews at a single center, not a tested intervention or patient outcome.