Early identification of patients with psychological distress: the role of inflammatory bowel disease nurses

Abstract

Psychological complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) reflect the complexity of coping with a chronic disease. Roughly 30% of patients with IBD have symptoms of psychological distress ( Mikocka-Walus et al, 2007 ). Such distress often goes unidentified, although the effect on disease severity, management, and patients’ use of hospital services can be profound. Even though nurses often feel they do not have the training or skills to identify and deal with patients with psychological problems, yet they find that giving psychological and social support to patients forms a key part of their daily routine. This article provides a simple and straightforward explanation of psychological distress, and provides brief and practical screening tools that can be used in everyday settings to help identify patients in distress.