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Helicobacter pylori and Peptic Ulcer Disease
The Goals of Ulcer Awareness Week Are:
- To increase awareness that nine of every 10 peptic ulcers are actually caused by an infection that can be cured, and
- To encourage ulcer sufferers to talk with their health care provider about the diagnosis, treatment and cure for their ulcer.
In order to effectively influence behavior, we first need to understand the attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of ulcer sufferers. The most common misperceptions are that stress and spicy foods cause ulcers. Nearly 60 percent of consumers, in a 1997 survey, still believed that ulcers are caused by too much stress, and 17 percent thought eating spicy foods was the cause.
Furthermore, having become adept at symptom maintenance over the years, many ulcer sufferers are skeptical about a permanent cure for their ulcer. Many ulcer sufferers self-diagnose and self-treat with over-the-counter (OTC) products and have done so for years. Changing such long-held misperceptions and practices will require a combination of education and intervention at the local and national levels. In order for people to become more aware of the ulcer/infection link, they need to hear it from many sources and have it reinforced by reassurances from trusted sources, to affect behavior change. This is the impetus for Ulcer Awareness Week.
Most importantly, we need to raise awareness among patients and consumers that nine of every 10 peptic ulcers are actually caused by an infection that is curable! This information can encourage ulcer patients to seek professional help in the diagnosis, treatment and cure for their ulcer. The primary audiences for the ulcer message are consumers who fall in the following categories:
- Health care consumers
- Long term sufferers who are more than 60 years old
- People with a recent onset of symptoms, normally after age 35
- Minority populations
- General population that continues to hold misperceptions about ulcer cause
To complement this effort, it is important that health professionals be encouraged to communicate with their patients about the relationship between H. pylori and peptic ulcer disease. Ulcer Awareness Week is the perfect time to heighten awareness of peptic ulcer disease among health professional groups such as:
- Primary care physicians
- Nurse practitioners and physician assistants
- Directors of managed care organizations
- Pharmacists
For information about H. pylori infection and ulcers,
see your health care provider or call toll-free: 1-888-MY-ULCER.
Email Your Plans for Ulcer Awareness Week along with your thoughts and comments to ulcers@cdc.gov