Announcements

Action Points on Ukraine

Children belong to the most vulnerable groups in society and any child caught up in a warzone will suffer, not least from loss, fear and pain. Children with pre-existing illness are at even more risk, as they may be deprived of a minimum standard of care.

It is the mission of our Society, ESPGHAN, to reduce the burden of digestive and nutritional diseases and to improve and promote digestive and nutritional health in children living in Europe and beyond. The ESPGHAN Council has carefully considered how our organisation should respond to the current situation in Ukraine and how best to support the welfare and healthcare of Ukrainian children, as well as assist our colleagues who care for them.

As an immediate first step of support, ESPGHAN Council has initiated the following Action Plan:

  • ESPGHAN will make an immediate donation of €10,000 to the Foundation of the Society of Friends of the Children’s Health Centre in Warsaw, Poland. The Foundation is helping to transport sick children from Ukraine, via Poland, to specialist centres around Europe in order that they may receive urgent critical care. In addition, we are investigating longer term options for financial support, to assist with covering the specific needs of children with gastrointestinal and nutritional diseases.
  • We are immediately initiating mechanisms to provide more direct health support to children with digestive and nutritional issues and to create referral networks. This action is being carried out in consultation with ESPGHAN colleagues in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, and with umbrella organisations including EAP and ECHO (European Children’s Hospital Organisation). Ukrainian doctors can obtain immediate medical advice on the management of children with digestive or nutritional disorders or make specific requests by contacting ukraine_support@espghan.org
  • In line with our mission to provide education in the field of paediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition in order to improve the care of children, we will offer free online access to our 2022 annual conference for Ukrainian paediatricians involved in the treatment of children with digestive and nutritional issues

The ESPGHAN Council has also decided that in the current situation it is inappropriate to hold ESPGHAN events in Russia and planned events will therefore be cancelled.  Active, in-person, participation at ESPGHAN events for colleagues from Russia will also not be possible under the current circumstances. However, consistent with the mission of our Society to improve the health of children and promote dialogue, online participation at the ESPGHAN annual meeting will be possible. The objective of these measures is to balance our concerns regarding the safety of our members and our strong disapproval of the aggression by the Russian Federation with the need to promote the health of children in all countries around the world.

There appears to be no end in sight for this catastrophic war in Ukraine and the above action plan is merely a first step in our support.  ESPGHAN will continue to monitor the situation closely with the aim of providing ongoing assistance as the situation evolves, and in line with the needs and requests of our Ukrainian colleagues.

New ESPGHAN Working and Special Interest Groups

New ESPGHAN Special Interest Group on Fatty Liver Disease

The Hepatology Committee is pleased to launch the Fatty Liver Working Group. The SIG is open to all ESPGHAN members interested in fatty liver research, advocacy, or improving clinical management in this field. The SI is looking for new ideas and enthusiastic members to work with. The first face-to-face meeting will be held at the Annual Meeting on Wednesday 22nd June in Copenhagen.

For more information, please contact the ESPGHAN Office (office@espghan.org). 

New ESPGHAN Special Interest Group on Obesity

The Special Interest Group in Childhood Obesity is a Nutrition working group that is
interested in the effect of childhood obesity on health outcomes and the effect of the
lifestyle interventions on prevention of these diseases and its cardiometabolic
consequences. It has a particular interest in the following thematic areas:
1) Definition, screening and assessment of obesity
2) The effect of obesity on clinical outcomes
3) The effect of lifestyle interventions on obesity and -related cardiometabolic alterations
prevention

The first face-to-face meeting will be held at the Annual Meeting on Wednesday 22nd June in Copenhagen.

If you are interested in joining the group or require any further informaiton, please contact the ESPGHAN Office: office@espghan.org 

ESPGHAN Endnote

Criteria for assessment of eligibility for use of the ESPGHAN Endnote subscription

Aim: To increase the scientific output of ESPGHAN and facilitate involvement in ESPGHAN activities of members without current access to reference manager software.

Targeted membership: Scientifically active members who do not have access to a reference manager

Criteria: The software is available to members who are in good standing and actively involved in ESPGHAN activities, namely one or more of the following:

•    recipient of an ESPGHAN grant or award, and up-to-date with required reports
•    reviewer of abstracts for the annual meeting
•    reviewer of manuscripts for JPGN (at least one in the past year)
•    member of an ESPGHAN Committee, working group or special interest group, and involved in writing a position paper, guideline or manuscript to be published in JPGN or JPGN reports
•    participant as Faculty in ESPGHAN educational activities

In the case of over-subscription, priority will be given to members in the order Trainee/AHP, Full member, Emeritus member. 

Members who feel entitled to the software offer, please write to the ESPGHAN Office (office@espghan.org) stating your role in ESPGHAN activities to receive the link and installation instructions once the subscription is finalised.

Archive

JPGN Impact Factor

We are proud to announce the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 2019 IMPACT FACTOR.  The 2019 Impact Factor for JPGN is 2.937, confirming once again that JPGN is one of the premier subspecialty journals in pediatrics!! Thanks for all of your contributions!

To view all details on the Impact Factor, please click the below link to download.

Details on the 2019 JPGN Impact Factor

Educational Event Applications 2021 - Deadline extended to July 31

The deadline for submission of applications for 2021 educational activities was extended to July 31, 2020. To download the application guidance, please click here.

Obituary for Professor David Shmerling

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Prof. David Shmerling, a founding member of ESPGHAN. You can read the obituary here.

ESPGHAN SOPs for Virtual Meetings and Webinars

After the experience with the Covid-19 pandemic there is an increased likelihood that physical/face to face meetings will become restricted in number. Virtual conferences are a viable alternative, but their implementation is challenging. It is important to find a balance between feasibility and as much synchronous interaction between the participants and with faculty as possible. Additionally, all meetings performed in the name of ESPGHAN should follow a definite standard and corporate design to ensure the highest level of quality.

It is for this reason that ESPGHAN has created a guideline for all members who would like to or are forced to organise a virtual meeting or webinar in 2021 and beyond. To download the document, please click the link below.

ESPGHAN SOPs for Virtual Meetings and Webinars

Educational Event Applications 2022 - Deadline September 30

Deadline for submission of applications for the 2022 Educational Programme is upcoming on September 30. In order to apply please click the below link to download the outline application form and submit together with an outline program to office@espghan.org before September 30. 
Upon approval of their outline application local organisers will be asked to submit a more detailed application in the first half of 2021.

2022 Educational Events Outline Application Form

If you have any questions about the process or application, please  contact the ESPGHAN Office via office@espghan.org or katharina.ikrath@espghan.org.

SPAM ESPGHAN related emails

There have been several recent spam emails circulated which were quite elaborate and contained some information that made the approach seem legitimate. These mails were sent in the name of the ESPGHAN President and were a phishing scam, asking for payment. A sample text is included below:

Subject: ESPGHAN LOGISTICS SERVICES REQUEST

Dear XXXX,

How are you doing?

 

Are you working or available at home?

 

Need your support with some urgent matter.

 

Look forward to your reply for more details.

 

With regards,
Sanja

 

Upon reply, the sender then requests a money transfer. 

 

We would kindly ask all Members who receive such mails not to respond and to alert the ESPGHAN Office (office@espghan.org) upon receipt, or if you have any doubts about mails received that may not seem genuine, please feel free to check with the Office at any time. In general, ESPGHAN will never ask for payments in such a manner, but as the details included in these mails are getting more familiar, it is best to check before responding.  

Obituary - Samy Cadranel

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Prof. Samy Cadranel, an instumental part of ESPGHAN and a friend to many of our Members. Please click on the link below for the fitting obituary written by ESPGHAN Members who knew him well. He will be missed by all. 

 

An obituary can be found by clicking here.