Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Dec:139:110286.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110286. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Expressive writing to combat distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in people with inflammatory bowel disease (WriteForIBD): A trial protocol

Antonina Mikocka-Walus  1 , Lisa Olive  2 , David Skvarc  3 , Lauren Beswick  4 , Wayne Massuger  5 , Leanne Raven  5 , Catherine Emerson  3 , Subhadra Evans  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Expressive writing to combat distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in people with inflammatory bowel disease (WriteForIBD): A trial protocol

Antonina Mikocka-Walus et al. J Psychosom Res. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: A large proportion of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receive immunosuppressive medication, may be at higher risk of complications if they contract SARS-CoV-2 virus, and therefore report high levels of COVID-19-related distress. This trial will evaluate a brief, evidence-based, online, group-based expressive writing intervention to reduce COVID-19-related distress in people living with IBD at the time of pandemic.

Methods: A parallel double-blind randomised controlled trial will be conducted. Overall, up to 154 adult participants with IBD and mild-moderate distress will be recruited via patient organisations. Participants will be allocated to the expressive writing intervention or an active control group. All participants will complete questionnaires including measures of distress, quality of life, resilience, self-efficacy, social support and disease activity before and after the intervention (1 week) and at 3 months post-intervention. The expressive writing group will participate in the evidenced-based 4-day writing program adapted from Pennebaker and Beall, 1986. The active control group will write about untherapeutic topics provided by researchers. Statistical analysis will be carried out on an intention-to-treat basis and will involve linear mixed effects models.

Conclusions: If successful, this simple intervention may bring personal and societal benefits, particularly because it is low cost, can be easily implemented online, ensuring social distancing, and be made widely available, during future disasters and to help with trauma-related distress in IBD.

Trial registration: The trial has been prospectively registered in the Australian New Zealand Trial Registry - ACTRN12620000448943p.

Keywords: COVID-19; Distress; Expressive writing; Inflammatory bowel disease; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study design overview.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. CentreforDiseaseControlandPrevention Inflammatory Bowel Disease Prevalence (IBD) in the United States: Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/ibd/data-statistics.htm Available from.
    1. Gracie D.J., Guthrie E.A., Hamlin P.J., Ford A.C. Bi-directionality of brain-gut interactions in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 2018;154(6) (1635-46.e3) - PubMed
    1. Mikocka-Walus A., Knowles S.R., Keefer L., Graff L. Controversies revisited: a systematic review of the comorbidity of depression and anxiety with inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflamm. Bowel Dis. 2016;22(3):752–762. - PubMed
    1. D’Amico F., Rahier J.F., Leone S., Peyrin-Biroulet L., Danese S. Views of patients with inflammatory bowel disease on the COVID-19 pandemic: a global survey. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2020;5(7):631–632. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crohn's&ColitisAustralia CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESPONSE. 2020. https://www.crohnsandcolitis.com.au/news/coronavirus-covid-19-health-alert/ Available from.

Publication types