Supporting young people to follow their treatment plans – feasibility testing

What is this research looking at? 

Young people with Crohn’s or Colitis can sometimes find it difficult to follow the treatment plans recommended by their IBD teams. This can mean that their condition is not well-controlled. They may have more unplanned hospital stays and poorer health outcomes.   

Young people may be advised to take medicines as prescribed, change their diet, monitor symptoms and go to appointments. This comes at an already demanding time of life. And every young person will have their own individual barriers, which affect how they follow treatment plans.

These can include:  

• Practical barriers, such as forgetting to take medicine.
• Perceptual barriers, such as thinking that the medicine is not needed because you feel well.

Adult health behaviours are often formed in adolescence as young people move from childhood to becoming young adults. Dr Gemma Heath and her research team aim to positively influence health behaviours in young people with Crohn’s and Colitis.

The researchers worked with young people and parents/caregivers to develop a support programme called A Self-led Self-management Intervention Supporting Teens with IBD (ASSIST-IBD). Find out more about the first phase of the project to develop ASSIST-IBD.

ASSIST-IBD will be developed into a mobile-friendly, interactive website. Young people (aged 13-18) with Crohn’s will test the new programme for three months. They will feedback on whether ASSIST-IBD is:

• User-friendly
• Relevant to them
• Engaging

The results from this project will be used to prepare ASSIST-IBD for future testing in a randomised controlled trial.

What the researchers think this could mean for people with Crohn's and Colitis

ASSIST-IBD will help young people with Crohn’s develop the skills, motivation and confidence needed to follow their recommended treatment plans. This will support young people to become empowered lifelong managers of their condition. This has real potential to help young people with Crohn’s live as normal a life as possible. Improving how Crohn’s is managed in young people could lead to better condition control, improved psychological wellbeing, fewer stays in hospital, and reduced health service costs. 

Who is leading this research: Dr Gemma Heath, Aston University
Our funding:  £98,939
Duration: 17 months
Official title of application: Feasibility testing of A Self-led Self-management Intervention Supporting Teens with IBD (ASSIST-IBD)