Diverticular Disease Priority Setting Partnership
Bowel Research UK and Guts UK collaborated on a Priority Setting Partnership for diverticular disease. We were excited to work with Guts UK and interested patients, carers and healthcare professionals on this project.
What is diverticular disease?
A diverticulum (or diverticulae if there are more than one) is a small out-pouching from the wall of the gut. They are usually found in the large bowel on the left side but can develop in any part of the gut. If these diverticulae cause symptoms, this is known as diverticular disease, and if they become infected or inflamed this is diverticulitis. Symptoms that arise from infection can include tummy pain, fever, constipation or diarrhoea, or blood in your stool. You can read more about diverticular disease here.
What is a Priority Setting Partnership?
A Priority Setting Partnership or PSP is a project that aims to discover the top ten research priorities for a health condition. It brings together patients, carers, researchers, and healthcare professionals to find out what really matters in a particular area. We are working with the James Lind Alliance to set up this PSP, which will identify and prioritise unanswered questions around diverticular disease. A PSP is just the beginning of research, as once the top ten priorities are identified, other researchers can use this to decide what to research in order to provide diverticular disease patients with the help they need the most.
What were the results?
If you participated, thank you very much for your help with this important project! The final workshop took place in February 2025. Here are the top ten priorities for diverticular disease:
- What are the best ways to manage diverticular disease over the long term?
- What are the best ways to identify, treat and manage flare-ups of diverticular disease?
- How and why do pouches (diverticula) form? Can this be prevented?
- Is there a way to identify which people will develop complications with diverticular disease?
- When is surgery the best option for people with diverticular disease, outside of emergencies?
- What is the best long-term diet for people with diverticular disease to maintain good health?
- What are the best ways to treat and manage pain in people with diverticular disease?
- What are the safest and most effective ways to treat diverticular disease using antibiotics?
- Does having a poor-quality microbiome (bad gut bacteria) increase the risk of developing diverticular disease? Could treating the microbiome reduce the risk?
- Why is diverticular disease becoming more common in younger people?
You can read the final report for the diverticular disease PSP here.
Who are Guts UK?
Guts UK is the charity for the digestive system, the gut, liver and pancreas. Find out more here: Guts UK.
Listen to our podcast episode about the diverticular disease PSP here.