Objective Since its birth about 30 years ago, Narrative Medicine approach has increased in popularity in the medical context as well as in other disciplines. This paper aims to review Narrative Medicine research studies on patients' and their caregivers' illness experience. Setting and participants MEDLINE, Psycinfo, EBSCO Psychological and Behavioural Science, The Cochrane Library and CINAHL databases were searched to identify all the research studies which focused on the Narrative Medicine approach reported in the title, in the abstract and in the keywords the words ‘Narrative Medicine’ or ‘Narrative-based Medicine’. Primary and secondary outcome measures: number of participants, type of disease, race and age of participants, type of study, dependent variables, intervention methods, assessment. Results Of the 325 titles screened, we identified 10 research articles fitting the inclusion criteria. Our systematic review showed that research on Narrative Medicine has no common specific methodology: narrative in Medicine is used as an intervention protocol as well as an assessment tool. Patients' characteristics, types of disease and data analysis procedures differ among the screened studies. Conclusions Narrative Medicine research in medical practice needs to find clear and specific protocols to deepen the impact of narrative on medical practice and on patients' lives.

Mobile and tablet apps, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, wearable computing and domotics for health.

Ecancermedicalscience is the peer-reviewed open access cancer journal founded by the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. We consider articles on all aspects of research relating to cancer, including molecular biology, genetics, pathophysiology, epide

Summary: Background  Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic conditions requiring medication throughout life to treat the disease and control the risk of relapse and colorectal cancer. Adherence to prescribed drugs is therefore crucial to their management.Aim  To identify determinants and potential risk factors of non‐adherence in inflammatory bowel disease patients.Methods  An anonymous 24‐item questionnaire (available online as Supplementary material) was administered to 485 out‐patients attending a tertiary referral centre.Results  Sixty‐one per cent of the patients reportedly adhered to their treatment. No differences emerged between inflammatory bowel disease and socio‐demographic characteristics other than age, non‐adherence being significantly associated with cases under 40 years (43% vs. 34%, P = 0.041). The most common reasons for non‐adherence vs. adherence were forgetfulness (61% vs. 44%, P = 0.000), disease remission (25% vs. 10%, P = 0.000), recent diagnosis (24% vs. 15%, P = 0.000) and full‐time employment (55% vs. 26%, P = 0.000). Oral therapy was associated with a significantly better adherence than rectal therapy (60% vs. 32%, P = 0.001). Communication affects patient adherence: a significant interaction was found for adherence and patients <40 years who had a good relationship with their doctors.Conclusions  Risk factors for non‐adherence are younger age, busy working life, recent diagnosis and disease remission. Good communication with the doctor might improve adherence.

Ecancermedicalscience is the peer-reviewed open access cancer journal founded by the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. We consider articles on all aspects of research relating to cancer, including molecular biology, genetics, pathophysiology, epide