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Italy
CoordinatorDr Bianca Canesi
ActivitiesJanuary 10, 2000 the Italian endorsement was signed by Gaetano Gifuni, General Secretary of the Presidency of the Italian Republic
June 2000: A meeting of a regional part of the Italian NAN has taken place. It was very successful. Almost 100 participants of Abruzzo took part in the meeting.
July 2001: The Italian NAN had a meeting in Milan on July 2, 2001. 15 scientific and patients societies were represented. The venue was the Circolo della Stampa in Milan. The establishment of an "Italian NAN Association" was decided in order to receive grants from both the participant societies and possible donators. This Association will be put into legal form in front of a notary in September.
The possibility of scientific research was also discussed. The proposals of research on topics regarding the BJD will be examined and accepted (or rejected) by the Council of the Italian NAN: Those projects that will be accepted will receive a modest economic contribution from the NAN and could be published under the aegis of the Italian NAN.
The Fidia firm by means of dr O'Reagan will sponsor a 3 years program of web conferences broadcasted by internet. The aim is to involve roughly 100 specialist participants in the conference theatre and more or less 2 thousands general doctors during the event. Probably 20,000 more doctors could have access to the conference by connecting themselves to internet by means of a password. The idea is to get also some "credits" from the Ministry of Health for the continual medical education. Probably the first conference will treat arthritis, the second osteoporosis and the third traumatic lesion of the locomotor apparatus. The first issue will be in 2002.
August 2002: The Italian National Action Network was registered as a non-profit organization (ONLUS in Italian) in summer 2002. The president of the NAN and of the ONLUS is Dr. Bianca Canesi.
Recent initiatives of the Italian NAN include:
- An editorial on the BJD published in “Reumatismo, the official journal of the Società Italiana di Reumatologia (Reumatismo 2002; 54: 214–6).
- Sponsorship for the publication of a manual for the accreditation of rheumatological units (Grassi W, et al. Manuale per l’accreditamento delle unità operative di reumatologia. EDIMES Editore, Pavia, 2002).
- Lecture on the BJD during the annual congress of the Italian league against rheumatic diseases and the patients associations (Siena 12–13 April 2002).
- Endorsement of all the recent congresses of the Società Italiana di Reumatologia.
- Endorsement of the following projects:
- AMICA (Italian multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of osteoarthritis) which studied more than 30,000 patients suffering from osteoarthritis and the therapeutical approach of GPs and specialists.
- INSIEME (National research on the socio-economic impact of rheumatic conditions) which is evaluating quality of life and disability in RA patients as well as their degree of satisfaction with the care they receive.
- MIDA (Measure of pain in osteoarthritis), a multicenter study on the characteristics of pain in patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis in relationship to disease activity and geographic origin.
- A campaign promoted by the patients associations and the Italian league to investigate the needs of patients with musculoskeletal conditions seen in general care.
- Future initiatives include:
- A general workshop with the participation of physicians, researchers, patients, industry and politicians to evaluate possible areas of intervention in muscoloskeletal conditions (Padova, 14 December 2002).
- An educational campaign on osteoarthritis through the net will start in spring 2003. It is directed mainly to general practitioners and will be followed next year by a similar initiative on osteoporosis.
- An educational campaign focusing on prevention of musculoskeletal conditions in the workplace and at school is being studied.
December 2002: On December 14, 2002, the first annual meeting of the Italian NAN was organized. It was held in Padua and included lectures on BJD achievements at the international level (Prof. Woolf), on the achievements at the Italian level (Dr Canesi, Italian coordinator), on the epidemiology of muscoloskeletal conditions (Prof. Cimmino) and on their costs in Italy (Dr Leardini). A round table on the social and economic impact of musculoskeletal conditions on the National Health System followed including the contributions of the presidents of the Italian Societies of Orthopedic Surgery, Physical Medicine, Osteoporosis Society, Rheumatology, and General Medicine. In the afternoon, several studies conducted under the auspices of the Italian NAN were described and discussed. This meeting obtained the endorsement and an augural message of Pope John Paul II.
June 2003: The Italian NAN recently obtained the official endorsement of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Italian National Institute of Health. This cooperation will include regular consultations on health problems related to the musculoskeletal system and a common meeting that will be held in December 2003.
OrganisationsAssociazione Italiana Fisioterapisti
Associazione Italiana Studio Osteosintesi
Associazione Nazionale Malati Reumatici
Associazione per lo Studio e l'Applicazione del Metodo Lizarov
Collegio Reumatologi Ospedalieri
Fondazione Lotta contro Artrosi e Osteoporosi
Fondazione Ricerca Lesioni Midollo Spinale
Gruppo Italiano Studio Terapia Infezioni Osteoarticolari
Innovet Osteoarthritis Veterinary Association
Lega Italiana Malattie Reumatologiche
Lega Italiana Osteoporosi
LELCOMAR
Società Emiliana Romagnola e Triveneta di Ortopedia e Traumatologia
Società Italiana Chirurgia della Mano
Società Italiana Osteoporosi e Malattie del Metabolismo Minerale e Scheletrico
Società Italiana Revisioni Protesi
Società Italiana dell'osteoporosi del Malattie dello scheletro
Società Italiana di Artroscopia
Società Italiana di Microchirurgia
Società Italiana di Ortopedia e Traumatologia Pediatrica
Società Italiana di Ortopedia e Traumatologia
Società Italiana di Reumatologia
Società Medica Italiana della Paraplegia
Società Piemontese, Ligure, Lombarda Ortopedia e Traumatologia
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