Treatment Adherence Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Receiving Anti-TNF Therapy

June 16, 2026 updated by: Nur Basak, Izmir Katip Celebi University

Effect of Health Belief Model-Based Nurse-Led Patient Education on Treatment Adherence Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Receiving Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition characterized by periods of remission and relapse, requiring long-term treatment adherence to maintain disease control and prevent complications. Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents are widely used in the management of moderate to severe IBD; however, suboptimal adherence remains a significant clinical problem due to concerns related to adverse effects, treatment burden, and insufficient patient knowledge.

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-led, Health Belief Model (HBM)-based structured patient education program on treatment adherence among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving anti-TNF-α therapy. The study was conducted as a two-center trial between February and July 2024 in the gastroenterology inpatient units and outpatient clinics in Izmir, Turkey.

A total of 408 patients were screened, and 140 eligible patients were enrolled and allocated 1:1 to intervention (n=70) and control (n=70) groups.

Participants were randomized using stratified randomization to balance potential confounders, with strata defined by sex, age group (18-35, 36-54, ≥55), IBD type (ulcerative colitis/Crohn's disease), IBD diagnosis duration (<12, 13-24, 25-36 months), and anti-TNF treatment duration (<6, 6-12, 13-36 months). Assignments were generated via SPSS with a fixed block size within strata.

Eligible participants were adults (≥18 years), Turkish-literate, diagnosed with IBD for ≥6 months, using anti-TNF-α therapy for ≥3 months, able to communicate and cognitively competent, and willing to participate. Key exclusions included cognitive disorders (e.g., dementia/Alzheimer's), malignant/pre-malignant disease history, and use of more than four medications.

The intervention group received the HBM-based structured education, while the control group received standard education. Outcomes were assessed using a pre-test/post-test design to determine the program's impact on adherence-related measures.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study was designed as a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led, structured patient education program based on the Health Belief Model on treatment adherence among patients receiving anti-TNF therapy. The study was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals in Türkiye between February and July 2024.

Eligible participants were allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either an intervention group or a control group using stratified randomization. Stratification variables included demographic and disease-related characteristics to ensure balance between study arms. Randomization sequences were generated using a computer-based randomization procedure.

Participants in the intervention group received a structured patient education program delivered by trained nurses and grounded in the constructs of the Health Belief Model, focusing on adherence-related beliefs, perceived benefits and barriers, and self-management of anti-TNF therapy. Participants in the control group received standard education routinely provided in outpatient clinical practice.

The study followed a pre-test/post-test design with follow-up assessment to evaluate changes over time. Outcome assessments were conducted at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at follow-up. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated by comparing adherence-related outcomes between the intervention and control groups over time.

This trial aimed to contribute evidence on the role of theory-based, nurse-led patient education in supporting treatment adherence among patients receiving biologic therapies.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

140

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

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Izmir, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Izmir Ekonomi University Medical Point Hospital
      • Izmir, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • İzmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18 years or older
  • Diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis)
  • Diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease for at least 6 months
  • Receiving anti-TNF-α therapy for at least 3 months
  • Able to read and write in Turkish
  • Able to communicate effectively
  • Cognitively competent
  • Provided written informed consent and agreed to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of cognitive disorders that may impair understanding or decision-making (e.g., dementia, Alzheimer's disease)
  • History of malignant or premalignant disease
  • Use of more than four concurrent medications (e.g., medications for hypertension, diabetes, cancer, or hematologic diseases)

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Health Belief Model-Based Structured Patient Education
Participants received a nurse-led, structured patient education program grounded in the Health Belief Model to support adherence to anti-TNF therapy and treatment self-management in inflammatory bowel disease.
Behavioral: Health Belief Model-Based Structured Patient Education
A nurse-led structured patient education program based on the Health Belief Model, targeting adherence-related beliefs and behaviors for anti-TNF therapy, including education on medication use and addressing concerns and barriers to adherence.
Active Comparator: Standard Education
Participants received standard outpatient clinic education routinely provided as part of usual care for patients receiving anti-TNF therapy.
Behavioral: Standard Patient Education
Standard patient education routinely provided in outpatient clinical practice for patients receiving anti-TNF therapy, without a structured theoretical framework.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anti-TNF Alpha Treatment Adherence Scale
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up
Treatment adherence was measured using the Anti-TNF Alpha Treatment Adherence Scale, a validated self-report instrument assessing patients' adherence behaviors related to anti-TNF therapy. The scale evaluates multiple domains including medication-taking behavior, concerns about treatment, perceived barriers, and factors influencing continuation or discontinuation of therapy. Higher scores indicate better adherence to anti-TNF treatment.
Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Partners in Healthcare Scale
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up
Nurse-patient collaboration was assessed using the Partners in Healthcare Scale-Turkish (PIH-TR), which measures the degree of cooperation, shared decision-making, and partnership between patients and healthcare professionals in disease management. Higher scores reflect stronger collaboration.
Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up
Patient Satisfaction With Education
Time Frame: Immediately post-intervention
Patient satisfaction with the education received was measured using the The Psychometric Assessment on Patient Educationn Scale, a validated instrument evaluating patients' perceptions of the clarity, usefulness, and adequacy of the educational intervention provided during the study.
Immediately post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Izmir Katip Celebi University

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, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 12, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

January 4, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0588

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared because the data include sensitive health information collected from a relatively small patient population. Although all analyses were conducted using anonymized datasets, sharing IPD could pose a risk of indirect participant identification. Additionally, the informed consent obtained from participants did not include permission for public data sharing beyond aggregated and de-identified results.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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