Caregiver Roles and Patient Outcomes in IBD Within A Dyadic Framework

Inflammatory bowel diseases IBD represent a challenging field in chronic illness, marked by persistent symptoms, fluctuating disease courses, and considerable psychosocial ramifications. While progress in clinical management and self-care education has advanced patient outcomes, it is increasingly recognized that disease control and quality of life are not determined by patient efforts alone. Informal caregivers, commonly family members or close friends, provide indispensable support in monitoring symptoms, sustaining treatment regimens, and facilitating decision making processes. However, despite this pivotal involvement, the understanding of caregiver roles in IBD remains fragmented within both research and clinical care models. Theoretical frameworks rarely account for the complex patient and caregiver dynamic, and major studies often underrepresent caregiver driven outcomes. This has led to insufficient integration of caregiver perspectives in intervention design, care pathways, and health policy initiatives.This Research Topic aims to address the critical need for deeper investigation into the caregiving dynamic within IBD by adopting a dyadic approach that considers the patient and caregiver as interactive partners in disease management. The primary goal is to reconceptualize caregiving from a static supportive function to a process characterized by mutual adaptation and collaboration, mediated by factors like shared self-efficacy, social support, and psychological resilience. Key objectives include unravelling determinants and trajectories of effective caregiving, understanding how caregiver and patient relationships influence clinical and psychosocial outcomes, and identifying innovative intervention targets. To achieve these aims, submissions that employ advanced methodologies such as longitudinal study designs, dyadic and mediation analyses, and translational research linking empirical findings with practice and policy are especially encouraged.The scope of this Research Topic is delimited to studies and perspectives that examine caregiving in IBD within a dyadic and mechanistic lens, spanning clinical, psychological, nursing, and methodological domains. We particularly welcome investigations that focus on the co-construction of care, caregiver burden, dyadic dynamics, and both patient and caregiver-oriented interventions. To promote breadth and innovation, we invite articles addressing but not limited to the following themes• Determinants and mechanisms of caregiver involvement in IBD self care• Dyadic processes in symptom management and treatment adherence• Impact of caregiving on caregiver and patient quality of life• Development and validation of instruments capturing caregiver and dyadic outcomes• Educational psychosocial and health literacy interventions targeting patient and caregiver pairs• Advanced quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies elucidating caregiving complexitySubmissions may include original research articles, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and perspective papers, provided methodological rigor and clinical relevance are demonstrated. Topic editors: Daniele Napolitano, Rosario Caruso, Mattia Bozzetti, Greta Ghizzardi Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82948/caregiver-roles-and-patient-outcomes-in-ibd-within-a-dyadic-framework