Glutlearn: Celiac disease on instagram

Introduction: Celiac Disease (CD) is a common chronic intestinal pathology with an estimated prevalence of 1-2% and the only treatment is a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet (GFD). The GFD must be safe and balanced, but adherence to the diet is complicated because it greatly influences the patient's social life. Therefore, people with CD often seek information on social networks. Objectives: Unfortunately, social networks provide information that is often outdated or scientifically questionable. For this reason, a nutritional education program about CD to share on Instagram (GLUTLEARN) was designed. The aim of this work was to study whether GLUTLEARN was able to increase knowledge about CD and GFD in celiac patients and in people close to them. Methods: The GLUTLEARN program was performed through Instagram for a month. Each day a post was shared on Instagram and a Whatsapp message was sent to the participants to inform them. The content was divided into 5 blocks, selected on the basis of a previous survey on the needs of these patients and their families: general concepts about CD (block 1), nutritionally balanced gluten-free diet (block 2), food labels (block 3), cross-contamination (block 4), new research in CD and interesting resources (block 5). Participants were recruited by sharing some posts about GLUTLEARN in social networks, and they completed a questionnaire before starting the program and another one at the end of the program. More than 150 people agreed to participate in the program. Results and Conclusions: GLUTLEARN program was able to respond to doubts and misunderstandings about CD in a rapid and effective way, gave the chance to share emotions and experiences about their daily life, and was useful for knowledge enhancement about CD and GFD. Participants thought that this kind of programs are necessary for a better adaptation to gluten-free life.