title: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Connect: A Novel Volunteer Program for Hospitalized Patients with IBD and Their Families.
abstract: Patients with inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) often require hospitalization and this experience is stressful. Health care providers frequently do not have adequate time to address the emotional impact of the hospitalization on the patient and family. Nonmedical support for inpatients was identified as an unmet need by a Crohn's disease patient's family. This led to the development of a volunteer peer specialist network, IBD Connect, where peer volunteers visit hospitalized patients with IBD to offer emotional support and educational materials. We aimed to determine the feasibility of incorporating IBD Connect into an inpatient IBD service, evaluate the impact of IBD Connect on patients' willingness to share their disease experience with family and friends, and improve stress. Since the inception of IBD Connect in 2012, peer volunteers have made 1469 total visits to 677 unique inpatients. Patient satisfaction of IBD Connect has been favorable with a significant decrease in stress related to the hospitalization. Similarly, there was significant increase in patients sharing their IBD diagnosis and experience with family and friends. Patients and their families are willing to share important information and ask questions to volunteers that may not have been discussed with their health care providers. In an era of patient-reported outcomes and patient-centered care, peer volunteers are an important component of chronic disease management and should be incorporated into IBD inpatient health care teams.
authors.affiliation: *Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and †Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Jana G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Hashash
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sigal
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wein-Levy
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Szigethy
authors.forename: Joy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Merusi
authors.forename: Miguel D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Regueiro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006758:Hospital Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012944:Social Support