Open AccessPerception of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Time of Telemedicine: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study
Author(s) -
Fabiana Zingone,
Mario Siniscalchi,
Edoardo Savarino,
Brigida Barberio,
Linda Cingolani,
R. D’Incà,
F.R. De Filippo,
Silvia Camera,
Carolina Ciacci
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
jmir. journal of medical internet research/journal of medical internet research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.446
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1439-4456
pISSN - 1438-8871
DOI - 10.2196/19574
Subject(s) - medicine , inflammatory bowel disease , pandemic , telemedicine , covid-19 , disease , cross sectional study , health care , family medicine , outbreak , ulcerative colitis , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , economics , economic growth
Background After the COVID-19 outbreak, the Italian Government stopped most regular health care activity. As a result, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) had limited access to outpatient clinics and hospitals. Objective This study aimed to analyze the perception of the COVID-19 emergency among patients with IBD during the early weeks of the lockdown. Methods We invited adult patients with IBD from the University of Salerno (Campania, South Italy) and the University of Padua (Veneto, North Italy) by email to answer an ad hoc anonymous survey about COVID-19. We also collected data on demographic and disease characteristics. Results In total, 167 patients with IBD from Padua and 83 patients from Salerno answered the survey (age: mean 39.7 years, SD 13.9 years; female: n=116, 46.4%). We found that patients with IBD were particularly worried about the COVID-19 pandemic (enough: 77/250, 30.8%; much/very much: 140/250, 56.0%), as they felt more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to their condition (enough: 70/250, 28.0%; much/very much: 109/250, 43.6%). Patients with IBD from the red zone of Veneto were more worried than patients from Campania ( P =.001), and men felt more susceptible to the virus than women ( P =.05). Additionally, remote medicine was appreciated more by younger patients than older patients ( P =.04). Conclusions The results of our survey demonstrate that the lockdown had a significant impact on the psychological aspects of patients with IBD and suggest the need for increasing communication with patients with IBD (eg, through telemedicine) to ensure patients receive adequate health care, correct information, and proper psychological support.