The groundwork
A new Europe-wide awareness campaign on Intestinal Failure and Nutrition was very recently initiated and launched by the Optimal Nutritional Care for All (ONCA) campaign.
The campaign is a multi-stakeholder effort dedicated to highlighting the unmet needs of patients with intestinal failure, a condition where patients cannot absorb enough nutrients due to reduced gut function, and the inequalities that exist in care across Europe.
Aligned with the policy paper “Transforming the vision; giving chronic intestinal failure patients the care they need” outlining six critical unmet needs, this campaign aims to elevate the awareness surrounding Intestinal Failure.
These needs can be briefly categorised:
- Chronic IF is treatable, but there is inequity of access to treatment between and within countries
- There is a need to disseminate agreed epidemiology and quality standards within and between countries
- There is an opportunity to improve stakeholder education
- Current home and social care are inadequate to meet the quality of life needs of those living with chronic IF and their families
- There is inadequate research to drive service improvement
- There is a lack of accredited reference centres
To maximize the awareness and its impact, the campaign will interconnect with upcoming Optimal Nutritional Care for All and EU4Nutrition events, utilising these platforms to scale up its reach across various channels and partnerships, ensuring a broader dissemination of this crucial matter.
IF Expert Workshop in Lyon, ESPEN Congress
The launch
The campaign was kicked off with an expert multi-stakeholder workshop to explore how healthcare professionals, policymakers, and patients can work together to improve access to specialised, patient-centred care for those with intestinal failure (IF). This session took place on September 12th during the ESPEN Congress in Lyon.
Stakeholders were actively invited to pinpoint forthcoming policy opportunities by prioritizing unmet needs and distinguishing between short-term feasible objectives and those requiring long-term efforts.
