ERIC teams up with University of Leeds researchers for constipation research

Here at ERIC, we find that constipation is one of the main concerns of parents/carers we support. Up to 1 in 3 children are affected by constipation. This often misunderstood condition doesn’t just affect children physically, but it also affects families emotionally, financially, in education and more.  

We know that many parents struggle with complex treatment information, which is why a team of researchers at University of Leeds, including Dr Peter Cartledge, Dr Sadia Zaman, Dr Tabitha Ashley-Norman and Dr Jonathan Sutcliffe, led a study to find out what parents of children with constipation need to know and how they prefer to receive that information.

The resulting paper includes a ‘curriculum of information needs’ for carers of children with constipation, which can now be used to support the production of new resources for parents and carers.

Key messages 

Key findings include:

• The research proposes a curriculum of topics, such as understanding constipation, behavioural strategies for management, and medication use. 
• The research reports that parents want information from a wide range of professionals, including from those working within the charity sector, and from a wide range of sources, including verbal information, written materials and Apps. 
• ERIC serves as an invaluable resource for parents. In the future, researchers hope their curriculum could guide ERIC and other key stakeholders, whilst planning new information resources for carers. 

ERIC supported the research by advertising the study on our HealthUnlocked platform.

Dr Tabitha Ashley-Norman said: “We were signposted to ERIC’s ‘HealthUnlocked’ forum, which serves a diverse community of carers supporting children with bladder and bowel problems. We advertised our study on this platform to interview parents with lived experience. Our research findings are based on insights provided by these parents, and healthcare professionals specialised in chronic constipation.” 

Sian Wicks, CEO of ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder Charity said: “ERIC is committed to improving outcomes for children, and collaborations like these are essential to the work that we do. It is vital that families have the most up to date information and advice, so we are delighted that this research has now provided a more in-depth insight into the knowledge gaps around constipation, which will certainly support us in creating resources that families can use”.

Read the full paper here: A “Curriculum of Information Needs” of Parents of Children With Chronic Constipation – Sadia Zaman, Tabitha Ashley-Norman, Jonathan Sutcliffe, Peter Cartledge, 2025