Telling My Friends: talking about having Crohn’s or Colitis was developed with young people and it is based on research with young people and young adults who have Crohn’s and Colitis. This resource has been endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing.

Our resource is free to download and use. It is made up of:

What do you think?

We really want to know what you think about our ‘Telling my Friends’ resource, please fill out a short survey and let us know.

Our study explored how Crohn’s and Colitis impacts on young people’s and young adult’s friendships and their mental health. A key finding was that many young people find it difficult to tell their friends about their condition because they find it embarrassing to talk about and worry about how their friends might react. We are working closely with Crohn’s and Colitis UK who funded our study and linking to their #ItTakesGuts campaign to help breakdown the ongoing stigma and taboo about bowel conditions.

Our e-advisory group of ten young people with Crohn’s or Colitis were essential in helping create the animation and resources, and some of them are the voices of the characters in the animation.

For more information, please contact Professor Bernie Carter on [email protected]

Royal College of Nursing Official Logo
Alder Hey Children's NHS Logo
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Logo
Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital Logo
University of Manchester Logo

Professor Bernie Carter – Edge Hill University & Alder Hey Children’s NHSFT
Prof Pamela Qualter – University of Manchester
Prof Stephen Allen – Alder Hey Children’s NHSFT & Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Dr Ali Rouncefield-Swales – Edge Hill University

Dr Lucy Blake – Edge Hill University
Prof Lucy Bray – Edge Hill University & Alder Hey Children’s NHSFT
Kay Crook – St Marks & Northwick Park
Prof Chris Probert – University of Liverpool & Royal Liverpool University Hospital

This resource will be reviewed in 2023.