The Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network works with organizations that empower local, grassroots advocates in the communities that they serve. We support the global community of young adult patients; however, we are not the ultimate authority or voice on what is best for all patients across locations, demographics, and intersecting identities. We deeply encourage the creation of patient-led organizations, collaboration, and the building of partnerships. Groups that try to monopolize community-based work are a significant problem, and we believe decolonizing advocacy starts with creating spaces and uplifting community voices to lead.
Help us diversify patient engagement by working with some of our past alumni!
This list of our current and past fellows is intended to amplify the voices of patient advocates who are doing meaningful work in their communities. Email us at admin@ccyanetwork.org for more information.
Collaborations
Health Care Transitions
We partnered with Health Care Transitions, a peer-reviewed journal, to publish a special collection of the findings from our Roundtable on Young Adults with IBD, a yearlong learning community comprised of monthly discussions between patients and providers. Read more.
United Ostomy Association of America
Under our parent organization, Generation Patient, we collaborated with the United Ostomy Association of America to create an informational guide on the J-pouch, a surgically created (J-shaped) internal reservoir made from an individual’s own small intestine as an alternate way to store and pass stool.
Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis
With support from Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis, we host two peer-support meetings for young adults with IBD each month! Learn more about our meetings here.
Conference Partners
AIBD Conference
Beginning in 2020, the CCYAN established a unique partnership with the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (AIBD) Conference to amplify the voices of patients in clinical spaces, conversations, and research. For the past four years, the CCYAN has been invited to participate in this conference, providing young adult patient perspectives on IBD management and other critical issues, such as the transition of care from pediatric to adult care.
CCYAN fellows ask GI doctors important questions at the 2022 Advances in IBD Conference!
As Dr. Miguel Regueiro, esteemed gastroenterologist and Co-Chair of the AIBD Conference, recognized, “The involvement of these wonderful young adult patients was highly impactful, and we look forward to partnering for years to come.”
Additionally, Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases accepted two conference abstracts written and presented by our team: "Overcoming Patent Barriers in IBD Therapeutics: A Path to Affordable Access" and "Addressing Issues Important to Young Adults with IBD: The Impact of a Multistakeholder Roundtable On Sexual Health, Reproductive Health, and Family Planning Roundtable.” We are proud of our past and current CCYAN fellows for leading the effort and grateful for our partnership with gastroenterologists who equally believe in patient-led research.
AIG IBD Summit 2023
We partnered with the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and the IBD Patient Support Foundation (India) to co-lead their first patient advocacy day as part of their main conference in Hyderabad, India. Many of our Crohn's and Colitis Young Adults Network Fellows & community members spoke at this event on topics of sexual health, mental health, surgery, and more.
COGI Health Equity Summit
In both 2021 and 2023, members of our team were asked to speak at the Color of Gastrointestinal Illnesses’ (COGI) Health Equity Summit, including our founder, Sneha Dave, and one of the 2021 CCYAN fellows, Andre Green!