Older Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Study of Care Experiences and Health-Related Quality of Life.
Noelle Rohatinsky, Usha Chauhan, Barbara Currie and 4 others
PMID 37556367WHAT IT FOUND
Most older Canadian adults with inflammatory bowel disease were satisfied with care but described low collaboration with healthcare teams.
They planned life around bathroom access, fatigue pacing, and trusted providers who listened.
Key findings
01Fifty-eight older adults completed surveys; they reported satisfaction with IBD care, moderate health-related quality of life, and lower patient-healthcare team interaction scores.
02Twenty-four interviews produced three themes: daily life with IBD, access to services, and communication and relationships.
03Participants planned activities around bathroom access and used pacing to manage fatigue.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was exploratory and noninterventional, so it cannot show whether any care model improves outcomes. The sample was small: 58 surveys and 24 interviews, and the authors said generalizability is limited. Participants were mostly female, diagnosed before age 60, and reported controlled disease and useful treatment, so people with active disease or poor care experiences were underrepresented. Not every participant answered every survey question. Recruitment used social media, listservs, and clinic posters, so it may not represent older adults with IBD across Canada.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high satisfaction scores as proof that current IBD care works for all older adults. The study did not test any treatment, and the sample was small and mostly had stable disease.