Unmet Healthcare Needs Among People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Canadian Cross-Sectional Population-Representative Study

Purpose Despite current standards of care, many people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience significant disease complications and gaps in care. To better understand and address unmet healthcare needs, we need population-level evidence on perceived unmet healthcare needs in people with IBD. Our objective was to compare self-reported unmet healthcare needs among individuals with and without IBD and determine whether accessing medical care attenuates such need. Methods We used the 2014 Canadian Community Health Survey, a population-representative cross-sectional survey with a multi-stage cluster randomized design. We compared perceived unmet healthcare needs among individuals with and without IBD using multilevel logistic regression, clustering by respondents' health regions and accounting for sociodemographic variables and non-IBD chronic conditions. In a second model, we additionally controlled for access to medical care (family physician, specialists, and psychologists). Results Eighteen percent of people with IBD (n = 114/632) reported an unmet healthcare need within the preceding 12 months, compared with 11% (n = 5446/53,333) of those without IBD (SMD: 0.18). Those with IBD were more likely to have an unmet healthcare need (adjusted OR: 1.84, 95% CI 1.19-1.85). Additionally adjusting for respondent-reported recent access to medical care slightly attenuated the association between IBD and unmet healthcare needs (adjusted OR: 1.38, 95% CI 1.10-1.72). Conclusion We provide a population-level perspective on unmet healthcare needs, demonstrating the extent and prominence of gaps in the healthcare provided to individuals living with IBD. Our findings underscore the need for improved access to multidisciplinary healthcare teams, and enhanced patient-physician dialog surrounding perceived healthcare needs.