LOOP Blog

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

I am a graduate of Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan. I was the first in my family to seek medical education, having been inspired by the work of programs like Doctors without Borders. My plan for seeking postgraduate training drastically changed when I applied for and received my immigrant visa in the US lottery and came to the United States to seek residency and post residency training in pediatric gastroenterology.

I have had many blessings and learnings that I have had the good fortune of being exposed to in this great adopted country of mine. This is a very brief story of my journey to become involved with ImproveCareNow, beginning as a practicing pediatric gastroenterologist at a participating children’s hospital and leading to my present role as Clinical Director for ImproveCareNow.  

In 2019, the National Alliance for Caregiving, in partnership with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and ImproveCareNow, released the first national report, to our knowledge, on caregiving of individuals with inflammatory bowel disease. Roller Coaster of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A National Study of Caregivers of Individuals with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis focuses on caregiving for the more than three million Americans affected by the two most common forms of IBD. It was clear from the study that caregivers needed support, with the report providing insight on who provides that support and caregivers’ perception of their capacity to provide care for the condition. The report also includes policy recommendations and next steps that can be taken in order to improve support for IBD caregivers and their families.

In 2020, NAC followed up this study with two additional resources for caregivers and professionals caring for IBD patients and their families.

As we have shared in previous #WINWIN posts, the ICN Engagement Team is committed to gathering and effectively sharing information, knowledge and know-how that may help patients with IBD and their families. In a 2019 survey the Engagement Team asked the ICN Community to share how they prefer to connect, find and receive information. Their responses are helping us learn how to get the right information to the right people at the right time on their IBD journey. In this post we are sharing feedback related to communication and information seeking preferences of patients and patients.

This is a work in progress. Our ultimate goal is to get the right information, to the right people, at the right times and using a method that works for them. We want patients and families to have what they need, when the need it! If you have thoughts to share on these topics, please contact us so we can learn from you!

LOOP is a place for ICN Community members to share their stories – experiences, perspectives, wisdom. Since the blog was created in 2012, hundreds of stories have been shared by patients, parents, clinicians, researchers, collaborators and friends. We've recapped our top five, most read stories from patients about life with Crohn’s disease.

Dear ImproveCareNow Community,

After 15 years as its President and Executive Network Director, my last day with ImproveCareNow will be this Friday, July 31. It has been an exhilarating and profound journey.

The evolution of the ImproveCareNow Community has far exceeded everyone’s expectations—what you are today, none of us dared to imagine when we began in 2006. It is inspiring what the ImproveCareNow Community has accomplished—how you have improved the lives of so many. I have been fortunate to be able to work with you, to steal shamelessly and share seamlessly with you, and to experience your selflessness and compassion. I know you will continue to go far—to go further—together.

Ella and I want to thank you all for your incredible response to our first blog post where we introduced the IV Sweatshirt Project! If you haven’t read our story yet, we encourage you to start there – in it we share about Ella’s diagnosis with Crohn’s disease, our journey to find a treatment that worked for her, and how her experience ultimately led us to create something together to help kids like her stay warm and comfortable while getting infusions.

After a few trials and some delays due to COVID-19, we are excited to share that we have received a solid prototype of our IV sweatshirt design and have been able to test it at our infusion center!

In February 2019 our Engagement Team asked the ICN Community to share what information, knowledge and know-how could help others living with IBD, and how best to get those resources into the hands of people who need them. Two weeks ago we shared feedback and resources related to “Information and resources to support psychosocial health.” Today, we're sharing about "Information on financial and insurance coverage issues."

We know there is more work to do, and this is the start of identifying resources that can help our community. If you know of any resources that address the topics shared in this post, please contact us so we can share seamlessly.

I'm Lexi - a rising high school senior. In December 2019, I was having severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. The doctor at Urgent Care thought my gallbladder was the cause of my pain and suggested I go to the emergency room immediately to have it removed. At the ER, after many tests, they determined it was not my gallbladder but could not figure out the cause of my pain. I was referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist.

In February 2019 our Engagement Team asked the ICN Community to share what information, knowledge and know-how could help others living with IBD, and how best to get those resources into the hands of people who need them. Two weeks ago we shared feedback and resources related to “Information and resources surrounding different facets of IBD.” Today, we're sharing feedback and resources related to "Information and resources to support psychosocial health."

We know there is more work to do, and this is the start of identifying resources that can help our community. If you know of any resources that address the topics shared in this post, please contact us so we can share seamlessly.

In February 2019, the ImproveCareNow Engagement Team surveyed CIRCLE community members to identify information, knowledge & know-how that could benefit others living with IBD and their families/caregivers. Specifically, we hoped to uncover resources and methods of sharing that would help us identify gaps in resources and information ImproveCareNow currently provides to the IBD community.

Seventy people took our survey, including patients with IBD and their parents/caregivers. We learned a great deal through our analysis of the survey results. At a high level, we were able to identify four key areas of need:

• parents and patients want information and resources surrounding different facets of IBD, including:
  • general disease information
  • information on treatment
  • resources for helping them manage IBD
• respondents want information and resources to support psychosocial health, including:
  • to promote emotional wellbeing
  • access to patient and caregiver support groups
• respondents expressed difficulty with insurance coverage and financial issues
• respondents shared diverse preferences for how and where they receive information

Below we will dive more deeply into the area of “Information and resources surrounding different facets of IBD.” Where possible, we will link directly to useful resources that may help address some of the specific needs expressed through the survey. We know there is more work to do, and this is the start of identifying resources that can help our community. If you know of any resources that address these topics, please contact us so we can share seamlessly.