On Thursday, April 18, 2024 ImproveCareNow is hosting our Spring Live Online Community Conference (LOCC). Sessions will run from 9:30 AM ET (8:30 AM CT, 7:30 AM MT, 6:30 AM PT) to 6:00 PM ET. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join us for this interactive, online event and we are proud to be able to offer FREE registration for all patients and parents/caregivers.  ..read more

Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic illness with various treatments, including ostomy surgery. Ostomy‐related medical decision‐making (MDM) is complex for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study sought to understand national multidisciplinary HCPs' perceptions about pediatric IBD ostomy surgery in the United States ..read more

This study characterized the explanatory models used by pediatric gastroenterologists when explaining inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to children ..read more

Hi, my name is Emily and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in December of 2023. Something interesting about me is that I met my idol, the voice actor of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars, Ashley Eckstein. I joined the PAC in February 2024 ..read more

My name is Maddie and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when I was 13 years old. I’ve been a part of the ICN network for almost 8 years, and I transitioned from my role as PAC Co-Chair a year ago. Now I have the opportunity to share my passion project with the ICN community! Introducing: EATS for IBD ..read more

ImproveCareNow (ICN) believes that when patients and caregivers are true partners in the design and delivery of their IBD care, we can achieve even better outcomes. One way our learning health network fosters this commitment to partnering with our pediatric IBD families is through our Community Conference scholarship program. Scholarships allow patients and/or caregivers to attend our in-person meetings at no cost to them ..read more

Some people enjoy the tradition of setting a New Year’s resolution. While adding healthy, balanced snacks into your diet sounds like a good goal for most of us, these small meals can help young people with IBD meet their nutritional needs. If solid food is currently part of your/your child's eating plan this list of snack and smoothie recipes, and dietary exceptions may be useful to you ..read more

Kera has been seeking information and making tough decisions from a young age. She was just 10 years old when she, with support from her Mom and Dad, made the choice to use nutritional therapy to treat and manage Crohn's disease after surgery. Her path to emergent surgery, and ultimately her diagnosis, was long and paved with painful symptoms and emotional trauma. Some adults dismissed her pain as "normal" or even lies. In her deeply honest #ignitetalk, Kera reminded us that life is full of inflection points...the moment a stomach bug morphed into chronic pain, the moment her pain was validat ..read more

LOOP is an important place for our community to keep #TalkingAboutIBD. It’s a place where #StoriesMatter - where they connect us, build confidence, validate our experiences, remind us we are not alone, and motivate us to continue improving together. We're looking ? back at our top stories of 2023 ..read more

We are hosting our Fall 2023 Virtual Community Conference as a way for us to quickly connect with each other, share information and updates, and learn together. This event is online, and is free & open to all who want to attend. We are keeping it brief (90 minutes), conveniently timed (6:30-8pm ET/3:30-5pm PT) and flexible - making it easy for you to drop in for some or all of our sessions. Our content is intentionally focused toward patients and parents/caregivers living with IBD. So, please join us (and invite someone to come along, too) for #ICNVCC on ..read more