We read with interest the excellent paper by Bernstein et al 1 on the information needs and preferences of recently diagnosed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
An unprecedented explosion of information and technology has created an environment of increasing health consciousness and led to a paradigm shift in attitudes and perceptions of patients in the last two decades. Patients are increasingly turning to the Internet and other sources for their unmet and complex information needs. This important area remains under-researched.
We report a recent British experience based on a prospective questionnaire-based study of 160 consecutive patients attending IBD clinics at our institution. Our study aimed at identifying the sources of information used by patients with IBD.
Patient demographics, disease duration, characteristics, educational level, access and use of information technology, and other resources were recorded. Patients listed Internet sites they visited for IBD health-related information and graded the trust to information received on a visual analog scale (0, Not trustworthy; 10, Very trustworthy). Our Institutional Review Board reviewed the study, although formal ethical approval was not required.
Eighty-five of the 160 patients who completed the study were female. The median age range was 45-64 years. Patient demographics and educational level are shown in Table .