Can an online expressive writing program support people with inflammatory bowel disease? A feasibility randomised controlled trial
Open accessAbstract
Background We explored feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of an online writing intervention (WriteforIBD) against an active control condition for distress in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods A feasibility RCT was conducted in 19 adults (89.5% female, aged 20-69 years) with IBD and mild-moderate distress. Participants allocated to the WriteForIBD group completed a 4-day 30-min writing program adapted for IBD. The active control group wrote about trivial topics provided by researchers. Feasibility was established based on the recruitment and retention while acceptability based on completion rates and a numeric rating scale. All participants completed measures of mental health and disease activity before and after the intervention (one week) and at follow-up three months after the study commencement.Results The retention rate in the study was high (100% WriteForIBD; 82% control). All participants attended every session. 84.2% of participants were satisfied with the intervention. All participants reported a significant improvement in IBD-Control immediately after the intervention; F (2, 33.7) = 7.641, p = .002. A significant interaction of group*time for resilience was noted, R 2 = 0.19, p < .001, with the active control group reporting a significant decline in resilience from the first follow-up to three months while no significant change in resilience for the WriteForIBD group was recorded.Conclusions Online expressive writing is potentially feasible and highly acceptable to people with IBD who report distress. Future large-scale trials should explore the intervention that is adapted from this feasibility study.Registration ID: ACTRN12620000448943p.
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The recruitment rate is in line with what would be expected from this population, especially compared with similar trials conducted with people diagnosed with IBD.
“This recruitment rate is in line with what we would expect from this population, especially when compared with similar trials conducted with people diagnosed with IBD.24,36”
From Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of Acceptance Commitment Therapy for Adults Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Distress. (2024) · cites this paper as [36]
Retention of the intervention group was better than the 77% reported for a feasibility trial looking at CBT but poorer than the 100% reported in an online writing intervention.
“Retention of the intervention group was better than the 77% reported for a feasibility trial looking at CBT24 but poorer than the 100% reported in an online writing intervention.36”
From Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of Acceptance Commitment Therapy for Adults Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Distress. (2024) · cites this paper as [36]
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- Authors
- Skvarc, D., Evans, S., Cheah, S., Cranney, M., German, B., Orr, R., Emerson, C., Olive, L., Beswick, L., Massuger, W., Raven, L., & Mikocka-Walus, A.
- Affiliations
- Deakin University (AU)
- Barwon Health (AU)
- Crohn's & Colitis Australia (AU)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-08
- Volume
- 48
- Pages
- 101616
- ISSN
- 1744-3881 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4281660707
- Cited by
- 4
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Deakin University
- National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1158487)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Keywords
- inflammatory bowel disease, expressive writing, psychological distress, resilience, COVID-19 pandemic, feasibility, acceptability, mental health, disease activity
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Adult, Chronic Disease, Feasibility Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Writing, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Pandemics
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