Patient Outreach & Advocacy (POA) Committee

The Patient Outreach & Advocacy Committee (POA) curates patient-forward and patient-centric content on chronic GI conditions that elevates disease state awareness and education. POA’s goals include:

• Dispelling myths & misinformation around GI ailments
• Shattering the stigma around GI conditions via open and supportive conversations
• Empowering patients to advocate for themselves as they navigate cultural identities and norms while living with GI conditions
• Garnering patient insights to advocate for improved care in coordination with other committees of SAIA

POA also seeks to improve global access to affordable treatment options for chronic GI conditions, such as IBD, by working together with relevant stakeholders.

IBDesis is an integral part of POA.

The committee hosts regular patient education programs on a variety of topics related to IBD. Each program features a collaborative panel of patients & multidisciplinary healthcare providers. The patient education curriculum is designed by the committee’s patient advocates and clinicians.

Learn more about our patient education programs via the buttons below.

In addition to patient education, POA hosts regular virtual patient meetups to enable IBD patients and their caregivers to meet one another, discuss their concerns, and gain much needed support through one another’s IBD journeys.

Improving access to advanced therapies globally is a key goal of SAIA & the POA committee is working towards this. Greater access to IBD therapies opens up more options to treat refractory disease, prevent complications, surgery, morbidity, and mortality. Crucially, this project opens up opportunities for SAIA to work closely with important stakeholders to advance inclusivity in clinical trials in regions with rapidly increasing rates of IBD.