Adherence to treatment among adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

• Grant number: 24/05905-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Elizete Aparecida Lomazi
• Grantee: Júlia de Freitas Silva
• Host Institution: Hospital de Clínicas (HC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) result from a dysregulated immune response influenced by genetic variants. Classic symptoms include abdominal pain, weight loss, and bloody diarrhea, along with extra-intestinal manifestations, most commonly rheumatological and dermatological. The timing of clinical onset and the colonoscopic and extra-intestinal phenotypes depend on the genetic variant and environmental triggers that lead to chronic and incurable intestinal inflammation. In chronic diseases, one therapeutic element requires particular attention: adherence to management recommendations. In most cases, pediatric inflammatory bowel disease manifests during adolescence, a period when ensuring patient adherence to treatment (AT) can be more challenging compared to other pediatric age groups. During this stage of life, additional risk factors for adherence exist, including the psychological ambivalence and impulsivity characteristic of the neural developmental stage in this transition between childhood and adulthood.Objectives: To interview adolescents with IBD to document the self-reported degree of adherence to treatment and non-dependent variables associated with AT. Additionally, the study aims to assess the patient's relationship with the disease.Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study, including a convenience sample. Data will be collected through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to adolescents with IBD at the Pediatric Gastroenterology Clinic of HC-UNICAMP. The questionnaire will address sociodemographic variables, lifestyle habits, dietary adherence, perception of the importance of diet, medication adherence, and disease representations. Treatment adherence (AT) will be assessed using the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ). Additionally, data will be collected from medical records, including prescribed therapies, IBD activity and severity indices, nutritional assessment, and other clinical aspects. Descriptive statistical analyses will explore correlations between the global adherence index, obtained by the BMQ, and the variables collected from the interviews and medical records of the adolescents.Expected Results: Beyond the development of this scientific initiation project, we aim for a deeper understanding of the topic to enhance the care provided to these patients. We expect the results to be highlighted in conference presentations and published in high-impact journals.