ECCO Country Member Profiles: Finland
 Tuire Ilus © Tuire Ilus |
 Clas-Göran af Björkesten © Clas-Göran af Björkesten |
 |
Finland |
Name of group: IBD section of the Finnish Society of Gastroenterology
Number of active members: The Finnish Society of Gastroenterology has 540 members. The IBD section has 30 registered active members.
Number of meetings per year: 2–3
President and Secretary: The Finnish Society of Gastroenterology: Johanna Louhimo (president). The IBD section: Pauliina Molander (president) and Clas-Göran af Björkesten (secretary)
National Representatives: Tuire Ilus and Clas-Göran af Björkesten
Joined ECCO in: 2004
Incidence of IBD in the country: The incidence of IBD in Finland is one of the highest in the world and there has been a significant increase in this incidence during the past 20 years. UC is more common than CD. IBD incidence is 42/100,000 persons per year (UC 31/100,000 and CD 11/100,000).
What has changed since your society became an ECCO Country Member?
Attending the annual ECCO meeting has been among the most visited international meetings among Finnish gastroenterologists.
Local treatment routines of IBD is more consistent than ever. The ECCO guidelines are in use as national recommendations. Membership in ECCO has made international research collaboration and networking easier.
What are the benefits to you of being an ECCO Country Member?
It eases networking, the exchange of information and experiences. Most importantly, being part of a greater community enables recognition of a small country in a broader perspective.
Is your society making use of the ECCO Guidelines?
Yes.
Have you developed research projects with other countries through your ECCO Country Membership?
Not yet
Have you developed educational activities with other countries through your ECCO Country Membership?
We have had visitors from abroad attending all three ECCO Workshops that we have organised in Finland.
Has your country been involved in a fellow exchange through your ECCO Country Membership?
Yes
What are your main areas of research interest?
Real-world studies, real-world outcomes, therapeutic drug monitoring, disease activity monitoring in clinical practice, faecal biomarkers, faecal microbiota transplantation, epidemiology, IBD surgery.
Does your centre or country have a common IBD database or bio bank?
Several bio banks have been established during recent years. A common IBD database is in use in several tertiary centres.
Which ECCO Projects/Activities is the group currently involved in?
We have been involved in EpiCom projects.
What are your aims for the future?
To further increase the knowledge of ECCO Activities among our members and to increase collaboration with other ECCO Country Members. To take part in international research and clinical projects.
How do you see ECCO helping you to fulfil these aims?
By enabling networking that generates further collaborations and both national and international research projects.
What do you use ECCO for? Network? Congress? How do you use the things/services that ECCO has to offer?
The ECCO Congress and Workshops provide high-standard education and enable extremely valuable networking. The ECCO Workshops have successfully been arranged three times in Finland and have gathered a substantial portion of Finnish gastroenterologists. The annual IBD intensive course prior to the ECCO Congress has been a highly appreciated educational event among trainees, of which a substantial proportion have had the opportunity to attend the course at some point in their training.