Helping Older Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic condition affecting the digestive system. Because there is no cure for IBD, management of the condition is complex and requires lifelong interactions between patients and the healthcare system.

Dr. Noelle Rohatinsky from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing is working alongside Nurse Practitioners Usha Chauhan (Hamilton Health Sciences), Barbara Currie (QEII Health Sciences Centre) and Kelly Phalen-Kelly (QEII Health Sciences Centre) to help improve the quality of life and quality of care for older adults living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

“The older adult age group is the fastest growing group of individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” said Dr. Rohatinsky. “These individuals are at an increased risk of serious illness and mortality and have unique experiences and expectations on living with IBD than those who are younger.”

Dr. Rohatinsky and her team will be working with older individuals with IBD in Canada to learn about the quality of care they’ve received in the past, to determine what the barriers to optimal care delivery have been and to understand from the older adults what they feel is needed to enhance the quality of care in the future.

“Patients are the experts in recognizing what services are needed to enhance their chronic illness care and health-related quality of life,” comments Dr. Rohatinsky. “People whose IBD is not well controlled have an increased likelihood of disease flare-ups, increased health system costs, decreased quality of life and negative health outcomes. Obtaining older adult perspectives about their goals for IBD care and how the care received impacts their health-related quality of life are important considerations when planning for the delivery of future health services.”

There is no research to date that examines perceived health-related quality of life and care experiences from the perspectives of older adults with IBD in Canada. Dr. Rohatinsky hopes her research can help to change this, so strategies with great potential to enhance the health and well-being of older adult patients, while decreasing direct and indirect costs to the healthcare system, can be developed.

“In an era where patient centered care is the priority, the data I’m looking to gather is essential and the older adult with IBD perspective is greatly needed in order to enhance care delivery, patient outcomes and overall quality of life,” concludes Dr. Rohatinsky.

The Health-Related Quality of Life and Care Experiences in Canadian Older Adults with IBD: An Exploratory Study, has received funding from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, in partnership with CANIBD, a Canadian Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (CSGNA) community of practice.