Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Dr Polychronis Pavlidis
Institution: King’s College London/ Gastroenterology London Investigative Network for Trainees (GLINT)
Title: Quality of care transition in adult IBD patients transferring between healthcare providers: a multicentre audit
Project Start Date: 1 December 2018
Completion Date: 30 November 2019
Summary:
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a common condition of the digestive system. Symptoms include stomach pain, diarrhoea and bleeding. IBD commonly affects young adults and it can have a negative impact on daily living. Currently, there are no medical cures available and long term medication is frequently needed to control worsening symptoms. Hence, regular follow up by an IBD specialist team is necessary for best outcomes. Disruptions in care have been shown to be associated with disease flare ups and emergency attendances. National guidelines have been put in place recently aiming to minimise disruptions in the care of teenagers with IBD moving from paediatric to adult services. The effects of changing care providers for adult IBD patients remain unknown though.
This study will identify how this change may affect adults with IBD. It will increase awareness about this aspect of care and, importantly, the results will inform current practice and improve the quality of care provided in the immediate future.
See the trainees that form the Gastroenterology London Investigative Network for Trainees (GLINT).
We are delighted for the generous award from Guts UK! The proposed study is an excellent starting project for our newly developed pan London gastroenterology research network, GLINT. It is novel, addressing an under-investigated aspect of IBD care, and extremely topical, since management of chronic conditions is a big component of the daily clinical activity of gastroenterologists. It is exciting because it has the potential to lead rapidly to benefits in patient care. We hope that with the kind support provided by Guts UK, we will be able to deliver this exciting project as a network of trainees across London and work towards improving the quality of care our patients receive nationwide.