thehindu.com
India needs patient-centric care and trained counsellors to manage Inflammatory Bowel Diseases burden: experts
Rising IBD cases, limited specialist access, and cultural differences in decision-making may delay diagnosis, worsen outcomes, and increase misinformation.
Trained IBD counsellors could improve education, follow-up, and culturally appropriate support, which matters for people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis in India.
People with IBD in India, caregivers and families, gastroenterologists and primary-care clinicians, health program planners, and researchers interested in care delivery and health systems.
What To Know
Experts and a recent Lancet study argue that India needs more patient-centred IBD care, including specialised IBD counsellors trained in medical, psychological, nutritional and social aspects of the disease.
The article highlights rising IBD prevalence in India, limited numbers of gastroenterologists, cultural differences in decision-making (family-centred care), misinformation about causes and treatments, and the role counsellors could play to improve education, follow-up and access — especially outside major urban centres.
IBD counsellors are proposed to work alongside doctors to explain diagnoses and treatment plans, address medication fears, provide basic dietary guidance, support follow-up and reduce stigma. The article notes colonoscopy as an important diagnostic tool but emphasises the need for specialist interpretation and ongoing counselling.
The piece recommends adapting care models to India’s cultural context and training existing clinic staff to take on counselling roles as a scalable step, rather than building new hospitals. It also calls for national-level planning and funding for IBD services.
This article summarises expert opinion and a Lancet commentary advocating for service redesign; it is not reporting new clinical trial data. Suggestions are about health-system and workforce changes (training counsellors, adapting communication), so they do not imply immediate changes to individual treatment plans.
