To address this, 8 health charities, including Crohn's & Colitis UK came together to work with Egality, 2 community organisations, and people with lived experience to co-produce a compelling, awareness raising film that highlights the importance of diversity in research.

Our collective aim is to increase the number of people with lived experience from diverse ethnic groups who are actively involved in health research and ultimately improve health treatments and services.

This spoken word film explores why involving people from diverse ethnic backgrounds in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is essential for improving health treatments and services for everyone.

We worked with Duke Al Durham, a spoken word poet and hip hop artist living with type-1 diabetes. Drawing from his own journey and numerous interviews with other people who have lived experience, he crafted this powerful spoken word piece.

Click the video below to watch the film:

If you've felt inspired watching the film, and looking for ways that you can get involved in improving representation in research, then look no further. 

• Why not share the film in your local community? Let's reach as many people as we can and encourage them to participate in health research. 
• Take a look at our current Research Opportunities on our Shaping Research web pages. 
• Sign up to attend our IBD Patient Involvement in Research Day, happening November 16th. 

Your involvement in our research is key, as it means we’re focusing on what’s important to everyone affected by Crohn’s and Colitis.