Experience with a Behavioural Programmein the Care of Patients with Inflammatory Intestinal Disease

Overview

As part of comprehensive care of patients with intestinal inflammatory disease the authorselaborated a behavioural programme focused on improvement of the patients’ life with Crohn’sdisease. As a baseline they used the biopsychosocial model of the genesis and development ofthe disease. The programme was used during a 12-day reconditioning stay in a spa institution.It involved health education, psychological training, physical exercise and socio-cultural acti-vities. The authors present in their paper also the results of brief psychological research ofaffective symptomatology in 25 patients with Crohn’s disease (15 women, 10 men) duringreconditioning stays. For assessment of neurotic trends the authors used questionnaire N5which assesses the intensity and number of symptoms of neuroticism. Depressivity wasassessed according to a self-evaluating scale BDI (Beck depression inventory) which recordssymptoms in the sphere of affective experience, somatogenic symptoms and social activity. Oncomparison of the level of depressivity and neuroticism before and after the reconditioning stayin the spa after application of the behavioural programme the authors recorded the followinga statistically significant decline of the number of symptoms and intensity of neurotic experi-ence, a decline of depressivity, of symptoms of affective experience and symptoms of socialactivity.

Key words:
Crohn’s disease - biopsychosocial model - behavioural programme - neuroticism depressivity.