O2182: Enhancing Healthcare Outcomes through Comprehensive Virtual Pediatric Multidisciplinary Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinics: Integrating Patient Perception and Experience

Background: Children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at risk for decreased quality of life and impaired academic and social functioning. Studies show the potential for multidisciplinary clinics to deliver comprehensive care and improve patient outcomes in pediatric IBD. Research supports the use of telemedicine to deliver accessible, equitable IBD care. However, no studies have integrated patient perspectives and health outcomes to improve the current model of multidisciplinary care and patient education. Thus, the objectives of this study were to assess patients’ perceptions of the telemedicine multidisciplinary clinic and evaluate the efficacy of education efforts.

Methods: We interviewed patients aged 7-21 years with a pre-existing IBD diagnosis who received care through Doernbecher Children’s Hospital’s (DCH) virtual multidisciplinary IBD clinic between November 2023 and April 2024. The clinic consists of gastroenterologists, dieticians, psychologists, nurses, and pharmacists and focuses on patient education. We asked 28 questions assessing patients’ satisfaction with the multidisciplinary model and virtual platform and their understanding of the role of nutrition, medications, and mental health in IBD management.

Results: 27 patients were included in the study, with mean age of 13.5 years (SD 3.2) at interview. Participants live a mean drive time of 2.0 hours (SD 1.8) from DCH with a maximum travel time of 8 hours. 20 (74.1%) endorsed barriers to attending an in-person appointment as outlined in Figure 1. At the time of interview, most patients described symptoms as well-controlled (55.6%) or mild (22.2%). All patients reported strong satisfaction with the multidisciplinary clinic, with a mean rating of 9.1 (SD 1.0) on a scale of 1-10. All patients perceived utility in all disciplines of the clinic (100%), most frequently highlighting nutrition (55.6%), medical education (29.6%), and psychology (18.5%) as particularly helpful. When assessing patients’ knowledge, most were able to identify flare triggers (73.1%), acknowledge the role of nutrition in IBD (100%), accurately list foods that can worsen inflammation (96.3%) and identify stress management skills learned from discussions with the psychologist (74.0%). However, only 4 (14.8%) of the patients could vaguely describe the role of biologics in IBD and half (51.9%) failed to include inflammation in their definition of IBD.

Conclusion: Virtual multidisciplinary IBD care is perceived positively by pediatric patients of all ages and can contribute to improved disease understanding and control. After receiving multi-D education, patients show strong insight into the importance of nutrition and mental health in their IBD care but have limited literacy of IBD and biologics. Telehealth improves accessibility and mitigates challenges of coordinating multidisciplinary care, making it a valuable tool in caring for children with IBD.