Youth Wellness Series

The Youth Wellness Series is an annual program that aims to provide educational and relevant content to youth and young adults living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This year, our guest speakers shared their expertise on the topics of mental health, extraintestinal manifestations and mucosal healing.

Scroll down or visit our YouTube channel to watch the 2021 Youth Wellness Series videos!

The videos are recorded in English and include French subtitles.

Mucosal Healing

November 22 - 26

In this series, Dr. Nancy Fu explained what causes damage to the gastrointestinal tract, why GI tract healing is important and shared insight on what can be done stimulate the healing process.

Dr. Nancy Fu (MD, FRCP(C), is a gastroenterologist and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Richmond General Hospital in British Columbia.

Mental Health & Mindfulness 

November 29 - December 3

As a recently diagnosed student, Hailey Rocha shared her journey of living with IBD and taking care of her mental health. In addition, Hailey talked about the benefits of mindful exercises, and provided tips and strategies for managing anxiety and stress.

Extraintestinal Manifestations

December 6 - 10

This series focus on different types of extraintestinal manifestations in IBD, described what happens if a patient is diagnosed with an EIM, as well as provided practical tips on nutrition and pain management.

Dr. Christopher Ma (BSc, MD, MPH, FRCPC) is a gastroenterologist and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, University of Calgary in Alberta.

Check out our previous events below!

Fall 2018 Youth Wellness Series

October 4th, 2018 we hosted a Facebook Live event on Living Well with Crohn's or Colitis. Featuring past AbbVie IBD Scholarship Recipients Joe Shaw and Leslie Hernandez, we had a lively and interactive discussion on what it's like being a student with IBD.

October 24th, 2018 we hosted a webinar on Eating Well with Crohn's or Colitis. Our presenters were Jennifer Haskett, Registered Dietitian at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Shira Gertsman, past AbbVie IBD Scholarship Recipient. 

Browse through our library of past Youth Wellness Series events below. Featuring youth-friendly presentations on topics such as mental health and IBD, budgeting with a chronic illness, transitioning (to adult care and to post-secondary school) and more!

  • Canada has among the highest incidence rates of Crohn's and colitis in the world.
  • 1 in 140 Canadians lives with Crohn’s or colitis.
  • Families new to Canada are developing these diseases for the first time.
  • Incidence of Crohn’s in Canadian kids under 10 has doubled since 1995.
  • People are most commonly diagnosed before age 30.

Other Areas of Interest