Evaluation of Patient Education in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

About 10% of the population in western countries suffer from abdominal pain and change of bowel habits - known as the irritable bowel syndrome. The patients suffer from low quality of life and they are often not well taken care of within the public healthcare system. They often feel frustrated and seek both their family doctors, specialists and alternative medicine for help. Many patients feel they do not know enough about their disease, and the uncertainty may enhance bowel symptoms. We want to evaluate the effect of patient information and education in these patients.