My work with patients and caregivers is completely voluntary. Health-permitting, I do also engage in authorships of research studies and guidebooks as well as speaking engagements as sponsored collaborations. I take pride in the quality of my advocacy work and find it extremely rewarding, humbling and meaningful after having experienced all the ups and downs in my personal journey with Crohn’s disease and other ailments. It gives me sheer delight to help move the needle on our care and break down barriers as minorities living with IBD. To share the impact of my advocacy work, I have included some of the testimonials I have received over the years:
Tina and I have been collaborating together for a few years now on several initiatives to increase the awareness of IBD, along with nutrition for IBD in the South Asian patient population. Tina is truly full of genuineness and heart with her work to help others living with IBD. Many of my patients have told me that they were at ease with speaking to Tina, felt like she cared and that they were not alone in their journey in their care for their IBD. She is also great with encouraging her patients to build ongoing and positive partnerships with interdisciplinary providers, whether it is the physician, or dietitian, or gastro-psychologist. This is important as it takes a village! I would highly recommend her for collaborations as well as a pillar of support for patients! – Neha Shah, RD, CNSC, CHES, Neha Shah Nutrition LLC
Advocacy and Tina are synonymous with one another. Compassion, determination, and empathy are just few words that describe this incredible woman. IBD has literally thrown everything it can at Tina! Instead of feeling sorry for herself she has built an amazing platform to help others dealing with IBD. Combining research with her life experience, she has helped a multitude of people understand this debilitating condition, while addressing the systemic stigmas embedded around IBD with facts. Tina is nothing short of an amazing soul whose selflessness is something I aspire to. She has changed my life for the better, and I could not have embarked on my journey towards advocacy if it wasn’t for her. I am able to slowly find my voice because of her. She has positively touched so many lives. She gives a voice to the voiceless. The world could use more people like Tina Aswani Omprakash.
– Shan Rahim, Patient in Canada
I worked with Tina on a project to create a Pediatric Crohn’s Guidebook. She has incredible writing skills and insight into what patients and caregivers go through. She was a delight to work with and I always appreciated her input and leadership. She is deeply committed and passionate about her work, which makes her a valuable asset to any team. I would highly recommend her and hope to work on future projects together!
– Stephanie Brenner, LCSW, Chronic Illness Psychotherapy, LLC
Tina Aswani Omprakash is a wonderful patient advocate and mentor for many South Asians living with Crohn’s disease and other chronic conditions, including myself. Her website, Own Your Crohn’s, was the first and only credible South Asian IBD patient resource that I found upon my diagnosis and it helped me tremendously in learning more about my condition. More importantly, as a South Asian, I felt my own concerns about my diagnosis, future and pressures being reflected in her writing and external facing advocacy and her words helped me embrace my illness. I have since been part of private patient support groups moderated by Tina for South Asians and work with Tina on IBDesis, a global initiative to raise awareness among South Asians and as a moderator on a private patient support group. Tina’s empathetic yet evidence based approach to her advocacy, her selfless desire to help as many people as she can and her genuine commitment to uplift her community has empowered me, along with many others, to find our voices, speak up about our experiences of living with chronic conditions and strive to build thriving lives.
– Madhura Balasubramaniam, Patient in Chennai, India
Tina is a beacon to so many across the healthcare system, probably more than she even realizes. She’s an educator, role model, innovator, and coach. It’s always uplifting to collaborate with her.
– John Novack, Communications Director in the USA
I have many friends but Tina is a very special one. We got to know each other since the onset of the pandemic last year and we have worked together several times since. She is passionate about her work and she keeps coming up with new ideas to spread awareness about Crohn’s and Colitis. From the work that she had done, she has motivated and inspired me to not give up on my dreams. It’s hard to find someone who cares for other people’s welfare the way Tina does. I wish her to always stay in good health and continue to aid the Crohn’s and Colitis community.
– Saravanan Nagappan, Patient in Malaysia
Tina’s advocacy work for IBD and many other conditions is second to none. I have collaborated with her at multiple speaking events, in which she elegantly got tough topics across and made sure the voices of others were heard. Tina is extremely passionate about her work and I would recommend her to anyone considering working with her. I am looking forward to collaborating with her in the future.
– Sukhjeen Kaur, Patient Advocate and Founder of Chronically Brown
As someone who has struggled with opening up about my own personal journey with Crohn’s disease for 15+ years, I can honestly say that it takes a great deal to put yourself out there as an advocate to help others. IBD takes plenty out of us as it is; giving others in this community peace of mind in knowing that they’re able to find comfort and education from another is not an easy task. Yet, Tina does it with absolute grace and nobility. The effort and time she puts into each and every single person who reaches out to her is truly remarkable and a true testament to why she does the work she does. I’ve learnt so much from her in the time I’ve gotten to know her and I admire her passion in trying to empower those of us living with IBD. Her selflessness is evident in how much she has done and continues to do for this community and I truly am grateful to have crossed paths with her. The greatest thing about people like Tina is that they don’t advocate to be in the spotlight themselves, they do it because they wish to see a change.
– Sharan Kaur, Patient in the UK
I work with Tina as a Girls with Guts’ Community Connection Member. It is evident how serious she takes her role as Chairperson. Tina’s determined yet empathic approach to educating and empowering people has made an incredible impact with the IBD community, and I look forward to continue learning and working with her.
– Basmah Ali, Patient in the USA
I have previously collaborated Tina on a project for South Asian, IBD patients suffering from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. I now work with Tina at IBDesis and I cannot praise her highly enough when it comes to her work ethic, commitment, passion and drive. Tina’s voice within the IBD community is always appreciated and second to none; from tough topics to the more common topics, she will never fail to provide honest knowledge, education and opinions. I thoroughly enjoy working with her and she is a huge asset to our team. I personally admire her knowledge when it comes to particular studies and especially with helping others.
– Surakhsha Soond, Patient in the UK
I just want to take a minute and thank a very special person @ownyourcrohns. Tina has been one of the first South Asian IBD warriors that I met over social media. Honestly for a while I thought I was the only South Asian with this disease. A couple of days after I started my Instagram page, Tina reached out to me and I was so happy to finally meet another South Asian with IBD who I could connect with. She made me feel so comfortable that I poured my heart out to her. I discovered we had so much in common with our IBD life.. From that day, she has always been there for me, she checks up on me, supports me and goes out of her way to help. Through Tina I was able to connect with so many other amazing IBD warriors and of course many more South Asians with IBD. Tina has educated me about so many things related to IBD that I had no idea about and connected me to doctors in the US who could help with my care remotely. She is not only an amazing advocate but she’s one of the kindest people I know with a beautiful heart. Thank you, Tina, for being my inspiration and for always being so supportive despite the difficulties you go through❤?. – Aisha Islam, Patient in Saudi Arabia