2022 Unwrapped

This past year was a year of change – we transitioned back to in-person and hybrid events, returned to our physical offices, and began to regain some normalcy that we lost during the peak of the pandemic.


2022 saw the launch of several new awareness and education campaigns, advancements from important research studies, progress in our advocacy efforts, and so much more. 


Below you’ll find a recap of some of the exciting work from the past year –the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s 2022 Unwrapped.

Leading innovative IBD research to help improve patient quality of life

We remain committed to advancing the most groundbreaking and innovative research in the IBD space that will help improve patient quality of life while we continue our work to find cures for Crohn’s and colitis. Some of the work that we supported in the past year includes:


•    Our Chronic Pain in IBD Initiative aimed at solving the mystery of what’s causing abdominal pain in patients and exploring effective remedies to alleviate it. 
•    Our $3.6 million investment in precision nutrition research to help provide the knowledge so patients can tailor their diets based on their unique biological, clinical, and lifestyle characteristics to feel better and minimize flares.
•    A “smart pill” that delivers medicine directly to diseased areas in the intestines.
•    A new blood test that predicts which IBD patients are at high risk of having multiple flares within the following 12-18 months.

Increased awareness

A significant portion of 2022 was focused on raising awareness of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis through a variety of campaigns. But the largest one was our Spill Your Guts public service announcements (PSA). In 2022, we released several new versions of our PSA, including a version in Spanish, a version about pediatric patients, and a radio version voiced by NPR’s Peter Sagal.


In 2022, our radio PSAs aired 5,477 times and our television PSAs have aired 20,449 times. Combined, these radio and television ads have reached nearly 81 million people. In the next year, we’ll be releasing additional versions of the PSA to further raise awareness of these diseases and help patients get access to appropriate treatment for their disease.

Expanding access to public restrooms

According to a recent survey of the general public about restroom access, nearly 20% reported having a public urinary or bowel accident. We know that this number is much higher among patients with IBD, many of whom deal with debilitating pain and urgency that require immediate access to a restroom.


Our We Can’t Wait app and the Open Restrooms Movement grew significantly in 2022. Nearly 45,000 restrooms are now listed in our free mobile app, allowing individuals who need to find access to a restroom an easy-to-use resource to help them when they are out in public. Nearly 25,000 individuals have downloaded the app to date. 


We’re excited that our Open Restrooms Movement gained some momentum in the media this year. We were featured in articles in Fast Company and The New York Times, and an op-ed in Bloomberg CityLab. Our work to address restroom access was also highlighted by the United Nations as part of their World Toilet Day efforts.

Helping patients access the care they need when they need it

A challenge many of our patients face is accessing care. We are dedicated to helping our patients overcome this challenge, particularly when it comes to accessing medication.


Many IBD patients encounter step therapy – an insurance protocol that requires patients to fail one or more medications before their insurer will approve the medication that their doctor originally prescribed. Step therapy can be extremely harmful to patients, delaying optimal care and leading to worsened health outcomes.


We are fighting on the state and national level to pass legislation to reform step therapy to create a more transparent and expeditious appeals process. In 2022, three additional states passed step therapy legislation – Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. The Foundation has been working in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts to pass this legislation for several years and our volunteers were critical to achieving this legislative success. Step therapy reform bills have passed in 34 states now, and we are working hard to try and get the federal bill – the Safe Step Act – passed in 2023. 


We have accomplished so much more than just these highlights. I invite you to visit our IBDVisible blog every day during Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week (December 1-7) to read more about the critical work we are doing in the areas of education, support, advocacy, and research.