| Interventions |
The psychological status of patients assigned to the experimental group will be disclosed to the treating physicians. However, any patient diagnosed with severe psychological disorder (i.e. psychosis, severe depression) will be reported to his/her doctor irrespective of the process of randomisation. Study will be a randomized controlled trial examining whether disclosure of IBD patients' psychological status to their physician influences patients' responses to the clinical treatment. IBD patients will all receive current standard medical care. In addition, they will fill in questionnaires measuring their disease activity, quality of life and psychological status. Participants with diagnosed psychological disorders detected by the screening instruments (HADS, SCL90) will be randomly allocated into one of two groups. As psychological co-morbidities in patients with IBD are frequently unrecognised in standard care settings, and often not specifically treated; this methodology should reveal whether a physician's knowledge of the patient's mental health status influences the physician's actions or the patient's response to clinical treatment. Study will be prospective with follow-up every 3 months for a year. |