Effects of Self-Management Interventions in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Systematic Review.

The included studies varied widely in design, sample size, intervention content, outcome measures and follow-up duration. Some studies had no control group, small samples, low recruitment or high attrition. Very few studies reported the medical or alternative treatments participants were also using, so effects of any single self-management component may be mixed with concurrent care. Most studies did not describe the theory or mechanisms targeted by the self-management intervention. The review did not support a specific self-management programme recommendation, so it cannot tell a clinician which programme to use. Pediatric patients were studied in van Tilburg et al., so the findings do not show what works for children. Follow-up was mostly short-term, with limited longer-term data.

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Do not conclude that nurse phone support alone improves irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. In the study that included nurse support, it was delivered with a web-based intervention, so the nurse component cannot be separated.