Difficulties perceived by patients with inflammatory bowel disease and how to cope with them in daily life: A preliminary study

Abstract

This study exploratorily and qualitatively classified problems perceived in everyday lives by people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in remission and their coping strategies, A free-form survey was conducted with IBD patients in remission who participated in IBD patient’ associations in Japan. Discussions with health psychology, nursing, and medical researchers, classification according to the KJ method, and conducting quantification theory type III classified IBD patients’ problems into five groups. Moreover, the results of cluster analysis using category scores also identified five categories. We have discussed the programs and coping strategies for each group and future issues.