IBD is not physically distinctive and patients may experience discrimination in the workplace and at school.
Dr. Esther Torres, IBD researcher together with Humberto R. Nieves Jiménez, one of the authors of the study. Photo: Provided to the Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
The symptoms that patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (EII), illness of Crohn (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) may become intolerant or uncomfortable in the execution of daily activitiessince the disease Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis they are not physically distinctive.
This might lead to this patient population experiencing discrimination at work and at school. Precisely to describe these experiences, health professionals in Puerto Rico conducted a study in health services clinic tertiary, presented at the scientific meeting Advances In IBD in 2021.
The study was conducted through questionnaires with sociodemographic, psychological and medical questions. Qualitative and quantitative data they were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Among the results obtained, the data of regarding 120 patients evaluated were detailed. At the time of the interview, 83 patients were working, 19% did not tell their employer regarding their IBD, 19% felt discriminated once morest at work, and 38% said that the disease has limited their work goals, says the research summary. .
Of those who work, 89% had to leave early or be absent due to manifestations of the disease. UC patients were significantly more likely to be absent from work than CD patients.
Some 69 patients were studying while having some of these conditions. 14% did not report their IBD diagnosis to their school, 12% felt discriminated once morest because of their condition, and 32% said that the disease has limited their educational goals.
87% of those who studied had to miss or leave school early due to the manifestations of the disease and 22% of the participants considered themselves a person with a disability due to their condition, while 8% did not know if they should consider themselves as such.
For this reason, the data from this study reinforce the impact of IBD at work and academic levels in this patient population.
The absenteeism is a significant factor that affects the productivity in patients with IBD. The perception of disability can also affect the work and study experiences of these patients.
