Abstract Background In Japan, several healthcare facilities have introduced nurse-led telephone consultations for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), enabling nurses to respond to symptom exacerbations and provide comprehensive clinical support. Despite their growing use, limited research has examined nurses’ perspectives on the benefits and challenges of these practices. The current study aimed to clarify the perceived benefits and challenges of nurse-led telephone consultations for IBD patients through qualitative interviews. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 nurses who had extensive experience providing telephone consultations to IBD patients. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling. Interviews explored nurses’ practices, perceived usefulness, and challenges. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes and subthemes. Results All participants were female nurses with a median of 10 years of experience in telephone consultations. All participants worked in outpatient clinics and specialized in nursing care of IBD patients, including telephone consultation. Three major themes emerged regarding perceived benefits: (1) Improved coordination for patient visits, facilitating smoother transitions when in-person care was advised; (2) Increased patient reassurance, even when immediate visits were not feasible; and (3) Prevention of disease exacerbation through timely medical guidance. Reported challenges included: (1) Staff shortages because of the time-intensive nature of consultations; (2) Limited availability of trained personnel because few nurses were equipped for telephone-based care; and (3) Low patient engagement, with patients often failing to initiate contact at appropriate times. Conclusion Nurses acknowledged the clinical value of telephone consultations in IBD care, particularly in enhancing patient outcomes and reassurance. However, staffing constraints posed significant barriers. These findings underscore the need to establish sustainable remote nursing models tailored to diverse clinical environments. Conflict of interest: Kawakami, Aki: No conflict of interest Tanaka, Makoto: Lecture fee: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (2024) Research support: Awarefy lnc. (2025) Sakagami, Kayoko: No conflicts Moribe, Yura: No conflicts Kunisaki, Reiko: No conflicts
Kawakami et al. (2026) studied this question.