Description
Purpose
Privacy Policy
Participation
Description
It has been estimated that roughly 1/3 of the North American population suffers from indigestion, heartburn, and other symptoms of dyspepsia or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). For some, these symptoms are so severe that they interfere with daily life. However, many people with dyspepsia do not consult either their family physician or a specialist about their symptoms and many feel that they lack information and support for their disorder.
Purpose
The website, mydyspepsia.com, has been designed to be a resource for information and support for those with dyspepsia, GERD and related disorders (e.g. ulcers, gallstones,
H. pylori infection, hiatal hernia, Barrett's Esophagus) and is part of a research project aimed at assessing the information needs and well-being of those with these disorders.
The research component has two aims: (1) a quantitative assessment of patients' well-being and disease knowledge through the use of surveys and (2) a qualitative assessment of the relationship between disease knowledge, patient concerns, and health care choices, to be accomplished through "real-time" on-line interviews and a review of message board postings. The responses from you, the on-line participant, will be compared to those from patients seeing a specialist for their condition.
The resource component of this site has been designed to provide those with symptoms of dyspepsia and GERD with information regarding their symptoms, risk factors, and possible treatment options, as well as news relevant to dyspepsia, GERD, and related conditions. The discussion section is designed to provide a forum for support and an opportunity to discuss issues important to those who use the site.
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Privacy Policy
If you choose to participate in the research component of the site, it is important that you know that only the site adjudicator and the principle investigator will have access to the information you submit. Unless you agree to it, no sponsors or other agencies will ever have access to your personal information and you will not be identifiable in any published reports.
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Participation
Note that you do not have to participate in this research project in order to access the posted messages and the information contained in mydyspepsia.com. You may use this site as an information resource only. If you wish to post messages to our bulletin board you will be asked to register. If you register, you will be asked to provide some basic demographic information about yourself (e.g. age, gender) and provide a contact e-mail address. We will also ask you for this information if you choose to complete our survey. If you choose to participate but then decide to withdraw at any time, for any reason please e-mail the site adjudicator:
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