Educational Intervention on Celiac Disease and Gluten-free Diet Through Social Networks (GLUTLEARN Project). (GLUTLEARN)

November 10, 2023 updated by: Itziar Churruca Ortega, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease that occurs in people who are genetically predisposed to gluten consumption (1). The prevalence of the disease is about 1-2% and it is more common in women than in men, and in children than in adults (2).

The only current treatment for celiac disease is a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet. This involves the complete elimination of gluten from the diet. Gluten is not only present in some cereals such as wheat, rye, barley and oats, but is also found in many foods that have been processed. In addition to being safe, the gluten-free diet must also be balanced.

Following a gluten-free diet creates psychological and social problems for the people who have to follow it (3). It has been seen in several studies that people with celiac condition can feel different and excluded, as it is difficult to eat out, to make sure that the food is gluten-free and to avoid cross-contact (4-8).

Due to the complicate situation of people with celiac disease, they do not hesitate to seek information about the management of their diseas. That is why people with celiac disease turn to social networks, as a rapid, visual and accessible way to share information (9-11).

In line with the objectives of the University to which the Gluten3S research group belongs to (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU), the group has been aware for some time of the importance of disseminating science on social networks in order to make the results of the research reach the general public. It is considered that creating a nutritional education programme about CD and Gluten-Free Diet (GFD), delivered by experts in the field, could be useful in improving knowledge and attitudes about this matter. This will empower people with CD to improve their self-care and take control of their situation. Furthermore, it is also interesting to design the programme in such a way that the impact of the intervention can be measured, always with the intention of continuous improvement and reaching people with celiac disease and their environment in an effective way.

The educational intervention will be carried out for one month and is aimed at adults with coeliac disease or adults with coeliac relatives who are involved in their care. Each day a post will be uploaded to Instagram with specific, accurate and current information. The content of the intervention has been divided into 5 main blocks: 1) general concepts about CD, 2) balanced GFD, 3) food labelling, 4) cross-contact/cross-contamination, 5) new research on CD and useful resources for disease management.

The evaluation of the intervention will be carried out through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

93

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Álava
      • Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain, 01006
        • University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Be of legal age
  • Have celiac disease or be involved in the care of a person with celiac disease
  • Be an Instagram user

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Glutlearn

The group will be made up of users of the social network Instagram who have celiac disease or are close to a celiac patient (parent/guardian of celiac children or cohabitants).

The intervention will be carried out through the social network Instagram. Participants will be recruited through the same social network. Participants must agree to take part in the study.

The educational intervention will be carried out for one month, where each day a "post" will be uploaded with specific, truthful and current information. The content of the intervention has been divided into 5 main blocks: 1) general concepts about CD, 2) balanced GFD, 3) food labelling, 4) cross-contact/cross-contamination, 5) new research on CD and useful resources for disease management.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Knowledge regarding celiac disease
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Attitude towards celiac disease: degree of concern
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Knowledge regarding balanced GFD
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Knowledge regarding food labels
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Attitude: degree of confidence in their choice of food
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Knowledge regarding cross-contact
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Attitude: degree of confidence in avoiding cross-contact
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks
Knowledge regarding new research in CD
Time Frame: 5 weeks
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test) in order to assess changes due to the intervention.The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, worst-1,best/0, disagree-4,agree/the number of correct answers).
5 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Satisfaction about the education received
Time Frame: Immediately after the intervention
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test). Secondary outcomes will be measured in the post-questionnaire. • The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, disagree-4,agree).
Immediately after the intervention
Perception of the importance of educational activities
Time Frame: Immediately after the intervention
A questionnaire will be used to be able to assess all outcomes. The same questionnaire will be completed twice, once before the intervention (pre-test) and again immediately after the end of the intervention (post-test). Secondary outcomes will be measured in the post-questionnaire. • The unit of measure will be the score obtained in the questionnaires (0, disagree-4,agree).
Immediately after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 19, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 19, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

June 28, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

November 13, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 10, 2023

Last Verified

November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • M10_2020_081 GLUTLEARN
  • GIU18/78 (Other Grant/Funding Number: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU))
  • GIU21/053 (Other Grant/Funding Number: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU))
  • IT-1419-19 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Basque Government)
  • University-Society US22/22 (Other Grant/Funding Number: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU))

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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