International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders
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Professional Education & Awareness

Functional GI disorders, for the most part, lack structural or biochemical markers that identify the disorders. Thus, they have long been difficult for physicians to understand, diagnose, and treat.

The prevalence of fecal incontinence has long been underestimated and that population underserved. As a part of our mission of serving patients, IFFGD also conducts education initiatives for physicians and caregivers of these specialized GI topics.

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Timeline

2022

  • IFFGD awarded Dr. Judy Nee from Harvard University with a Research Grant

2021

  • IFFGD published a Special 30th Anniversary Edition of the Digestive Health Matters Magazine
  • IFFGD Recognizes its new Latin Ambassadors 
  • IFFGD redesigned 7 of its 9 websites to make our websites more accessible to patients
  • IFFGD created a COVID-19 Impact survey to find out the impact that COVID-19 has had on the gastrointestinal community.

2020

  • IFFGD awarded Research Awards to three young investigators in clinical and translational sciences.

2019

  • IFFGD awarded Research Awards to four young investigators in clinical and translational sciences.
  • IFFGD Latin Ambassador Program was created to increase awareness of IFFGD’s mission among physicians outside the United States.
  • IFFGD created the Junior Academicians program to engage junior clinicians and researchers in order to increase their interest in functional GI and motility disorders. 

2018

  • IFFGD awarded 4 Research Grants to young investigators in clinical and translational sciences.
  • IFFGD added the Dietitian Listing to provide patients the opportunity to receive nutritional therapy close to home

2017

  • Results of the IFFGD online research survey of people diagnosed with gastroparesis, titled “The Burdens, Concerns, and Quality of Life of Adults with Gastroparesis,” are published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences.
  • The Functional GI and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act is re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 1187).
  • A Dear Colleague letter is circulated in the U.S. House of Representatives encouraging the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee to support the implementation of the research recommendations of the 2009 Commission on Digestive Diseases Report.
  • IFFGD publishes their Reporter’s Guide to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Second Edition, and distributes the Guide to reporters and other members of the media with an interest in health, lifestyle, and medical news.

2016

  • IFFGD launches its redesigned family of websites in celebration of 25 years of support for the digestive health community.
  • Preliminary results of the IFFGD online research survey of people diagnosed with gastroparesis are presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2016.
  • A statement in the US Senate is introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI) on behalf of those affected by gastroparesis recognizing National Gastroparesis Awareness Month.
  • Gastroparesis Awareness Month is listed on the US National Health Observances Calendar for the month of August.

2015

  • IFFGD launches its redesigned family of websites in celebration of 25 years of support for the digestive health community.
  • Preliminary results of the IFFGD online research survey of people diagnosed with gastroparesis are presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2016.
  • A statement in the US Senate is introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI) on behalf of those affected by gastroparesis recognizing National Gastroparesis Awareness Month.
  • Gastroparesis Awareness Month is listed on the US National Health Observances Calendar for the month of August.

2014

  • IFFGD awarded 3 Research Grants to investigators for innovative research related to idiopathic gastroparesis.

2013

  • IFFGD organized and sponsored the 10th International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
  • IFFGD presented 8 Research Awards to investigators in clinical and basic sciences.

2011

  • IFFGD organized and sponsored the 9th International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
  • IFFGD presented 6 Research Awards to investigators in clinical and basic sciences.

2009

  • IFFGD organized and cosponsored the 8th International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
  • IFFGD presented 5 Research Awards to investigators in clinical and basic sciences.

2008

  • IFFGD awarded 5 Research Grants to investigators in clinical and translational sciences.

2007

  • IFFGD organized and cosponsored the 7th International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
  • IFFGD presented Research Awards to 6 junior and senior investigators in both clinical and basic sciences.

2005

  • IFFGD organized and cosponsored the 6th International Symposium for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
  • IFFGD presented Research Awards to 6 junior and senior investigators in both clinical and basic sciences.

2004

  • The proceedings of IFFGD’s landmark 2nd Consensus Conference – Advancing the Treatment of Fecal and Urinary Incontinence Through Research: Trial Design, Outcome Measures, and Research Priorities – was published in the January 2004 Supplement, Vol. 126, No. 1, of the journal Gastroenterology.

2003

  • The 5th International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders was organized and cosponsored by IFFGD in 2003.
  • IFFGD presented our first Research Awards to junior and senior investigators in both clinical and basic sciences.

2002

2001

  • IFFGD originated and helped coordinate, the first Consensus Conference on Treatment Options for Fecal Incontinence. This first meeting, held by IFFGD in Milwaukee, led to the publication of a consensus report, which was published in Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, in 2001.
  • IFFGD organized and cosponsored the 4th International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

1999

  • IFFGD sponsored a 3-day workshop “Pathophysiological Models of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.” The primary goal of the workshop was to provide basic and clinical investigators (with different backgrounds and interests but with a shared interest in functional medical disorders) with an impetus to develop conceptual models that are applicable to functional GI disorders.
  • IFFGD organized and cosponsored the 3rd International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

1998

  • IFFGD helped organize a 3-day meeting, The Science and Practice of Mind Body Interactions. Participants included outstanding and internationally recognized scientific leaders in neurophysiology and anatomy, and a group of prominent and unique practitioners of mind-body medicine. A summary of the meeting proceedings were published by IFFGD as The Neurobiology Basis of Mind Body Medicine.
  • IFFGD supported the development of an educational video for medical professionals entitled A Biopsychosocial Approach to Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Improving the Physician Patient Relationship. Using simulated patient encounters, this video offers physicians techniques to improve communication with patients having mild, moderate, and severe symptoms of IBS. The video received recognition in 1998 from the American Medical Association (AMA) when it was named 1st runner-up in the AMA International Medical Film Festival for the category of patient education.

1997

  • IFFGD organized and cosponsored the 2nd International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

1996

  • IFFGD produced a physician text and slide set on the most common functional GI disorders. This was the first Educational Guide to offer information on functional GI disorders incorporating the Rome Criteria, a symptom-based diagnostic method, that physicians and healthcare professionals can use in presentations to educate the general public and community medical groups.

1995

  • IFFGD initiated and cosponsors, with the Office of Continuing Medical Education of the University of Wisconsin Medical School, the International Symposium on Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders that began in 1995. This biennial conference was the first international meeting designed to communicate new knowledge in the field of functional GI disorders. It has been described as “an educational jewel,” attracting hundreds of scientists and health care professionals from around the world as well as representatives of the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. Findings presented in these meetings are widely distributed through our publications and web sites.

See other IFFGD accomplishments:
Public Education & Awareness

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IFFGD is a nonprofit education and research organization. Our mission is to inform, assist, and support people affected by gastrointestinal disorders.

Our original content is authored specifically for IFFGD readers, in response to your questions and concerns.

If you found this article helpful, please consider supporting IFFGD with a small tax-deductible donation.

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