University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether IBD patients have better disease outcomes and feel more empowered to manage their condition if they have access to text messaging with their clinical team and if their symptoms are more regularly monitored through text-based surveys. Researchers will compare participants who have access to text-based monitoring, communication and education to participants who have access to text-based education alone. Researchers will also examine if different social and other non-medical factors impact IBD symptoms and quality of life. All participants will: * complete 5 brief on-line surveys over 12 months about their IBD and social risk factors, * receive IBD education content by text message up to 2 times a week. Some participants will also: * receive additional surveys by text to monitor their IBD progression, * have the opportunity to directly text message their IBD medical team.
Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), collectively referred to as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), are chronic diseases with no cure. Patient activation, defined as having the knowledge, skill, and confidence to manage one's health, can improve outcomes in chronic diseases, including IBD. Tailored digital health interventions can facilitate proactive longitudinal care for IBD patients by improving patient activation, promoting self-management and remote monitoring and can be automated and implemented at scale. The researchers are conducting a multi-center, open-label, randomized…
Inclusion Criteria: * 13+ years old with IBD (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, indeterminant colitis). * Followed at a participating site with an office visit (in-person or virtual) within the preceding 12 months. * Have access to a mobile phone and willing and able to receive and respond to text messages. * Willing to answer questions on electronic surveys. * Have the ability to read text messages and answer surveys in English or Spanish. Exclusion Criteria: * IBD patients s/p surgery with a current pouch or ostomy. * Unable to provide informed consent and child assent for minors.
Participants will receive brief check-in surveys about their IBD symptoms once a month, via text messaging. If the survey response indicates significant symptoms, an alert will be sent to the participant's IBD care team and participant will receive more frequent surveys (weekly) over the next month. Participants and their IBD clinical team will be able to communicate by text for non-emergency IBD-related questions.
Participants will receive education texts about IBD from trusted sources approximately twice a week. Topics will include: diet, medication adherence, fatigue, preventative care and other relevant issues.