As part of a clinical librarian's participation in an Inflammatory Bowel Clinic, a questionnaire was administered to patients with Crohn's disease between January and August, 1977. The study population of 37 p...
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As part of a clinical librarian's participation in an Inflammatory Bowel Clinic, a questionnaire was administered to patients with Crohn's disease between January and August, 1977. The study population of 37 patients had only a limited knowledge of their disease in general and had a particular deficit in the area of tests and treatment. Several factors were associated to varying degrees with higher knowledge scores;among them were younger age, higher occupational level, longer duration of disease, more surgical procedures, longer clinic attendance, and higher recurrence rates. Lower knowledge scores were received by patients who said they were in poor health, who had cut back on their daily activities because of the disease, and who worried a lot about the disease. Those patients who had used patient organizations and medical libraries or books as sources of information were shown to score higher than those who used other sources. Patients were anxious to learn more about their disorder, and they reported that having information about Cohn's disease was helpful for themselves and their families. The materials collected for patient use as a result of the study, and the possible applications of this type of study to other diseases, are also discussed.
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