Introduction to Conference Workshop Sessions and International Status Reports

to Conference Workshop Sessions and International Status Reports M.J. Martin J. Inwood In the late 1970s the World Federation of Hemophilia Council decided to reorientate the meeting activities of the Federation to accommodate the increasing spectrum of individuals involved in haemophilia care. There was also a perceived need to accelerate the utilization of the research potential and expand contemporary comprehensive care for the haemophiliac. Finally, the Council wished to encourage parity of participation, enabling haemophiliacs, their families, and members of the health care team, including physicians, to be more involved and responsible in WFH conference activities and decisions. It is hoped that the three workshop sessions and the international reports from over 50 participating countries will be the first occasion at a WFH International Congress where these principles have been put into practice. The design of these sessions not only involves members of the haemophilia care and research teams, but also requires the presence and contribution from the international community of haemophiliacs and their families. The sessions involve care, support and propagation of haemophilia throughout the world, so providing the essential foundations and vital fabric which can be added to or changed as time requires. The organizers of the workshop and international poster sessions were particularly keen that the information which would be derived from these deliberations would be distributed as widely as possible. To this end, we have arranged to publish the proceedings of the workshops, along with the abstracts of the poster presentations. The proceedings will then form the basis for a series of task forces which will be featured in subsequent WFH International Conferences. It is the intent of the Council, at this time, to take the three major subjects of the workshops and use them as a vehicle for the addition of new information for continuing debate, and hopefully, improvement of haemophilia care throughout the world. Indeed, the goal of the workshops and poster sessions is to provide a definitive statement describing the critical factors required for the organization, management and delivery of care to haemophiliacs in the 80s. Workshop I, under the chairmanship of Drs. P.Levine and H.H.Brackmann, will examine, assess the benefits, and identify Introduction 13