Tim Phelan : Romance, Riches, and Restrooms

Last week I was excited to stumble across a new research study sponsored by the Northwestern Center for Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders. Unlike other clinical studies designed to determine the causes of IBS or new treatment methods, this online study goes in an entirely different direction and focuses on an area that is particularly near and dear to my heart: the social stigma of IBS.

Rather than attempt to paraphrase what the study seeks to accomplish, I’ll just paste the official description:

The Northwestern Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders is conducting a research study looking at attitudes and opinions about people who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). The purpose of this study is to develop a questionnaire that would measure social stigma toward those who are affected by IBS that could be used by health care providers to address this important area of quality of life. We are seeking volunteers to complete 3 online questionnaires that include questions about demographic information, attitudes others may have had toward you because you have IBS, and how open you are about your condition. This study should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.

If you would like to participate, please click here. Also, if you have any questions or concerns about this research, please contact the study coordinator at (312) 694-7717 or FGIDResearch@northwestern.edu

Let me tell you, this was absolutely the easiest study I’ve ever participated in. From the comfort and confidentiality of my home computer, I candidly answered the first-round questionnaire in less than 15 minutes. In about two weeks, I’ll be receiving an email with a second questionnaire to answer. The way I see it, the greatest thing about this study is that it gives people who might otherwise be reluctant to discuss their IBS a rare opportunity to give the medical community honest (and anonymous!) feedback about what it’s really like to live with irritable bowel syndrome. As I’ve said before, the whole reason I wrote Romance, Riches, and Restrooms was to help erase some of the stigma of IBS by getting more people to talk (and laugh, too!) openly about IBS. The bottom line is that any efforts that encourage more open communication about IBS are going to eventually make this an easier condition for all of us to live with. I think this Northwestern study is an exciting and important step in this direction.

So…if you do suffer from IBS, why not click on the link above and participate in the study?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 7th, 2006 at 1:47 pm and is filed under IBS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.