Strategic Alliance for Intercultural Advocacy in GI (SAIA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization co-founded by Tina and multiple GI clinicians and patient advocates from around the world. SAIA aims to create culturally sensitive resources, research, and education for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers managing chronic GI conditions in order to minimize delays, dispel stigma, promote early diagnosis, and improve access to treatment for all.

Since our inception in 2021, SAIA quickly became a leading entity in GI advocacy by building on robust patient-clinician partnerships to deliver high-quality culturally sensitive education, research, and resources for patients and HCPs alike.

While we began with a focus on the global South Asian IBD community, through our journey, we have learned that SAIA’s focus on cultural sensitivity and inclusion resonated across multiple chronic GI conditions and across many cultural groups. Our private patient & caregiver support group called IBDesis Community and our patient education programs supported individuals from multiple nationalities, religions, and ethnic backgrounds and catered to several GI conditions, including but not limited to IBD, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Colorectal Cancer (CRC), Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) and more.

Through this journey, we have come to understand that cultural identity significantly influences medical care and healthcare outcomes for many individuals. Myriad folks experience the intersection of cultural identities, relationships, norms, and expectations alongside the axis of chronic GI conditions. This intersection often takes the form of cultural stigma around chronic GI ailments and increases the invisible burden on patients and their loved ones. Our research has shown that there are cultural barriers to GI care, and that it is vital for HCPs to meet patients & their families where they are at and adopt cultural humility as a part of clinical practice (Pandit et al., 2024).

Learn more about the origins of SAIA and our goals here & meet our leadership team here.

Join our private patient & caregiver community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ibdesis/

Check out our patient education programming here: https://saia-gi.org/patient-education-videos/