What Do Participants of the Crohn's and Colitis UK (CCUK) Annual York Walk Think of Their Inflammatory Bowel Disease Care? A Short Report on a Survey.
Antonina Mikocka-Walus, Madeleine Power, Lisa Rook and 1 others
PMID 28002076WHAT IT FOUND
IBD patients at a charity walk reported high satisfaction with care but identified significant gaps in access to psychologists and dieticians.
Nurses serving as first contacts should screen for mental health needs and refer appropriately, as many patients lacked specialist support.
Key findings
01Respondents reported high satisfaction with care (mean 7.7/10) and felt their opinions were valued, with 81% able to express views to practitioners.
02Access to mental health and dietary support was limited; only 28% had psychologist access and 44% had dietician access, despite these being top priorities for improvement.
03IBD nurses were the most common immediate point of contact for flares (37%), surpassing GPs, indicating their pivotal role in acute management and referral.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Small sample size (n=64) recruited from a single charity event, which may select for patients with stable disease and high engagement. Findings may not represent the broader UK IBD population, particularly those with severe disease or lower socioeconomic status. Self-reported satisfaction and access data without objective verification of clinical outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the University of York Health Sciences Research Governance Committee.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume high satisfaction scores indicate adequate holistic care. The survey reveals significant gaps in access to mental health and dietary support despite positive ratings for nurse interactions, suggesting patients may be unaware of available services or unable to access them.