Cure8 research brief
Self‑management programs delivered by nurses may help people with IBD improve daily functioning, confidence in managing their condition, and quality of life even when inflammation markers don’t change. That matters because many patients continue to have symptoms and life impact despite medical treatment.
Adult patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, IBD nurses and clinic teams, and researchers designing behavioral or supportive-care interventions for IBD.
This open‑access pilot randomized controlled trial tested a nurse‑delivered self‑management program (eight online modules plus weekly phone check‑ins) versus usual care in adults with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis who reported symptoms.
The program showed high feasibility and acceptability and produced improvements in functional impairment, patient activation, self‑regulation, and quality of life at 3 and 6 months; symptom severity and fecal calprotectin were largely unchanged. The study randomized 55 participants (36 intervention, 19 usual care).
Measures included surveys, interviews, and fecal calprotectin; qualitative feedback highlighted value of nurse check‑ins and accountability. This pilot supports testing a fully powered trial and consideration of integrating nurse‑delivered self‑management into routine IBD care if larger trials confirm benefits.
This is a small pilot randomized trial designed to test feasibility and acceptability; it was not powered to definitively show clinical effectiveness. Symptom scores and fecal calprotectin did not improve, so larger trials should evaluate both patient‑reported outcomes and biological markers before changing practice.
Review the original publication for the complete reporting, methods, and context.
Funding disclosed by the source: National Institute of Nursing Research, award K23 NR020044; National Institute of Nursing Research, award T32016913; Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, award UL1 TR002319; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, award P2C HD042828
This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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