Assessment of inflammatory bowel disease educational videos for increasing patient engagement and family and friends' levels of understanding.

OBJECTIVE: We developed five educational videos through a user-centered approach for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and their families and friends. Here, we assessed if IBD patient activation and family and friends' abilities to understand IBD patients' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (i.e., perspective taking) changed after watching the videos. METHODS: Through a pre-post survey, we assessed patient activation and perspective taking levels in people with a self-reported IBD diagnosis and their family and friends, respectively, before and after watching one of the videos. RESULTS: Among 767 participants with IBD, patient activation scores increased significantly after watching each video. In regression analyses, patient activation levels were less likely to increase in biologic-naïve participants after viewing the coping video. Among 232 people who knew someone with IBD, perspective taking scores increased significantly in 8/9 domains, which was more likely to occur among women. CONCLUSIONS: Educational videos developed through a user-centered approach were associated with higher self-reported IBD patient activation scores and perspective taking levels among family and friends. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: These videos, which are now widely disseminated on social media, serve as a model for how to create educational materials for improving patient activation and empathy in the social media era.

Chronic Constipation in the United States: Results From a Population-Based Survey Assessing Healthcare Seeking and Use of Pharmacotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) is characterized by unsatisfactory defecation and difficult or infrequent stools. CIC affects 9%-20% of adults in the United States, and although prevalent, gaps in knowledge remain regarding CIC healthcare seeking and medication use in the community. We recruited a population-based sample to determine the prevalence and predictors of (i) individuals having discussed their constipation symptoms with a healthcare provider and (ii) the use of constipation therapies. METHODS: We recruited a representative sample of Americans aged 18 years or older who had experienced constipation. Those who met the Rome IV criteria for irritable bowel syndrome and opioid-induced constipation were excluded. The survey included questions on constipation severity, healthcare seeking, and the use of constipation medications. We used multivariable regression methods to adjust for confounders. RESULTS: Overall, 4,702 participants had experienced constipation (24.0% met the Rome IV CIC criteria). Among all respondents with previous constipation, 37.6% discussed their symptoms with a clinician (primary care provider 87.6%, gastroenterologist 26.0%, and urgent care/emergency room physician 7.7%). Age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment status, having a source of usual care, insurance status, comorbidities, locus of control, and constipation severity were associated with seeking care (P < 0.05). Overall, 47.8% of respondents were taking medication to manage their constipation: over-the-counter medication(s) only, 93.5%; prescription medication(s) only, 1.3%; and both over-the-counter medication(s) and prescription medication(s), 5.2%. DISCUSSION: We found that 3 of 5 Americans with constipation have never discussed their symptoms with a healthcare provider. Furthermore, the use of prescription medications for managing constipation symptoms is low because individuals mainly rely on over-the-counter therapies.