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Multicenter Study
. 2019 Jun 20;19(1):97.
doi: 10.1186/s12876-019-1011-3.

Internet and WeChat used by patients with Crohn's disease in China: a multi-center questionnaire survey

Qiao Yu  1 , Liyi Xu  1 , Lili Li  1 , Min Zhi  2 , Yubei Gu  3 , Xinying Wang  4 , Hong Guo  5 , Yue Li  6 , Yihong Fan  7 , Bolin Yang  8 , Meng Xue  1 , Minfang Lv  1 , Dingting Xu  1 , Hanyun Zhang  1 , Yan Li  1 , Yongmao Song  9 , Qun Deng  9 , Xiaoxu Huang  10 , Jing Zhong  1 , Wen Hu  1 , Yimiao Zhu  1 , Xiaoying Wang  1 , Jianting Cai  1 , Yan Chen  11
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Internet and WeChat used by patients with Crohn's disease in China: a multi-center questionnaire survey

Qiao Yu et al. BMC Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: Currently, WeChat is widely used in disease education for patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in China. It is beneficial for the patients to actively engage in their disease management.

Methods: In this study, we examined the source and expectations of disease information for Chinese CD patients, analysing the content of popular WeChat public accounts and their potential association with medication adherence.

Results: Between November 24th, 2017 and April 10th, 2018, online questionnaires were sent to CD patients from eight different large urban hospitals in China. In all, 436 patients with CD were surveyed, and 342 patients responded. Patients most frequently visited Baidu (65%), WeChat (61%) and medical websites such as Haodaifu (35%) when searching for IBD-related information. Among ten WeChat IBD public accounts, the China Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCCF) (73%), "IBD Academic Officer" (21%) and "IBD in love" (21%) were the most popular. CD patients were most interested in information from the internet about diet and day-to-day health-related living with IBD (83%), an introduction to the disease (80%), and medication advances and side effects (80%). The correlation between the information provided by the top five WeChat public accounts and patients' expectations was low. Additionally, most patients (64%) had greater confidence in overcoming the disease after learning about CD through their internet searches. Medical adherence was also related to internet access and income (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: WeChat has become a major source of information for IBD education in China, but the content of WeChat didn't fully meet patients' expectations. Therefore, future initiatives should aim to provide high-quality information that based on patients' demands.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; Inflammatory bowel disease; Internet; Multicentre; Questionnaire survey; Social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Main sources of IBD knowledge. VTS: verbal teaching from surgeons; Official: Official brochures or materials from hospitals; Online: Online searching/consultation by themselves; Patients: Communication with other patients with IBD; VTI: Verbal teaching from IBD specialists
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Common platforms for searching IBD-related information
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Wechat public accounts used by CD patients. WCH: West China Hospital; PUH: Peking Union Hospital; SRRSH: Sir run run Shaw hospital
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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