title: Sources of information and factual knowledge in Europeans with inflammatory bowel diseases: a cross-cultural comparison between German and Irish patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disease related knowledge may be associated with quality of life, coping skills and medication adherence. However, little is known of cross-cultural variations regarding inflammatory bowel disease knowledge or sources of information and no study has assessed knowledge in diverse European IBD populations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess sources of information and patient knowledge in Irish and German inflammatory bowel disease patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and three disease, gender, age and education matched German and Irish patients completed a previously validated knowledge questionnaire. Additional data were collected on age, gender, education, disease type and duration, family history, smoking habits, medication use, previous surgery and quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  German patients obtained knowledge from a wider range of sources than Irish patients (p<0.001), most notably from the internet (p<0.001), newspapers and magazines (p=0.002). Both cohorts answered a similar number of questions correctly (Irish, mean 4.4 questions (Standard deviation (S.D.) 2.4); German, mean 4.3 (S.D. 2.2); p=0.67). In addition, both nationalities answered "don't know" to a similar number of questions (Irish, mean 3.3 (S.D. 3.1); German, mean 2.7 (S.D. 2.8); p=0.12) while Irish patients answered slightly fewer questions wrongly (Irish, mean 2.4 (S.D. 1.8); German, mean 3.1 (S.D. 1.9); p=0.002). A multivariate analysis included only Crohn's disease, female gender, young age and higher educational status as being significantly and independently associated with knowledge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest few differences between German and Irish IBD patients, despite cultural and linguistic differences, with regard to disease related knowledge of IBD.
authors: First Department of Internal Medicine, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors: Irina
authors: I
authors: Blumenstein
authors: Edel
authors: E
authors: McDermott
authors: Denise
authors: D
authors: Keegan
authors: Kathryn
authors: K
authors: Byrne
authors: Martha
authors: M
authors: Ellison
authors: Glen
authors: G
authors: Doherty
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Schröder
authors: Hugh
authors: H
authors: Mulcahy
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Crohn's disease;; Health related quality of life; Inflammatory bowel disease;; Patient knowledge;; Ulcerative colitis;