Project Plan

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is extremely common, affecting at least 11% of the Australian population. It is a chronic condition with no obvious cause. IBS symptoms include pain, bloating and altered bowel habits. It can be embarrassing, debilitating, and have a huge impact on quality of life.

“IBS is truly awful. Some days I simply don’t want to leave the house.”

IBS patient

Many people with IBS feel misunderstood by their family, friends and doctors, who may not take their symptoms seriously. Our aim is to gain a better understanding of Australian patients’ experiences around IBS.

We want to learn about their symptoms and triggers, the impact of IBS on quality of life, and their perspectives on diagnosis.

We would also like to hear about the treatments they have tried and their desired outcomes from treatment.

These topics have been addressed elsewhere in the world, but not locally in Australia.

Developing a solution

The team at the Marshall Centre have worked with a small group of people with IBS to develop questions for an online survey. The next step is to for a large sample of Australians with IBS to complete the survey.

We will then gather the responses for analysis of patterns and publication in a medical journal.

We hope there will be significant long term benefits relating to improved care for sufferers of IBS. The research undertaken will reconcile current clinical approaches to IBS with the actual experiences and desired outcomes of IBS patients in Australia.

By listening to the voices of IBS patients, we hope to identify areas for improvement in clinical communication and to facilitate patient-centred care.

We also plan to disseminate our findings more broadly to build understanding amongst the general public about IBS and reassure Australian IBS patients that others share similar experiences to them.

Your Support

We want to hear about your experiences with IBS. Please complete our online survey or share the link with others: ONLINE SURVEY LINK: http://bit.ly/ibsinau We would like input from adults of all ages and from all over Australia.