[e-drug] ICIUM 2004 Preliminary Announcement

[John Chalker <Jchalker@msh.org>]

E-drug: ICIUM 2004 Preliminary Announcement
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Preliminary Announcement

Place it on your calendars and in your diaries now!

ICIUM 2004: The Second International Conference on Improving the
Use of Medicines: 

March 30th to April 2nd 2004 in Chiang Mai, Thailand

In April 1997, researchers and policymakers from around the world
gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for the first International
Conference on Improving Use of Medicines. This conference,
supported by the World Health Organization Essential Drugs and
Medicines Policy Department, the International Network for Rational
Use of Drugs, the Applied Research on Child Health Project, and the
Rational Pharmaceutical Management Project, was a milestone in
producing a state of the art consensus on interventions to improve
drug use and in defining a global research agenda to fill gaps in
knowledge. 

The last five years have been filled with progress and challenges.
The ICIUM1 supporting organizations supported the Joint Research
Initiative to Improve the Use of Medicine (JRIIUM) to investigate
innovative behavioral interventions. Health reform, decentralization,
an exploding private sector, and new drug financing and incentive
schemes have been explored in many settings. Several new global
initiatives have been formed to tackle catastrophic epidemics and to
improve access to essential medicines. Over all hangs the threat of
rising pharmaceutical prices and rates of antimicrobial resistance.
In March-April 2004, members of the international community will
again assemble in Chiang Mai for ICIUM 2004: The Second
International Conference on Improving the Use of Medicines. The
predominant focus of ICIUM 2004 will be cost-effective
interventions to improve the use of medicines. This focus will be
explored in a sequence of sessions highlighting specific themes: a)
International policies and systems; b) National policies, systems and
programs; c) Hospitals and inpatient care; d) Primary care and
private practice; e) Private pharmacies and drug sellers; and f)
Community use of medicines. The program will be organized into
several concurrent topic tracks including: 1. Malaria; 2.
Tuberculosis; 3. HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and
Reproductive Health; 4. Child Health; 5. Chronic Diseases including
Mental Health; 6. Antimicrobial Resistance; 7. Methodological
Issues; 8. Impact of Access on Use; 9. [any more]. Participants
with similar interests in a topic track will form a "meeting within a
meeting" as they explore the conference themes. 

Researchers and policy makers are invited to register for ICIUM
2004 and to submit abstracts for consideration. Registration will be
limited to 500 participants (a minimum of 30 participants per topic
track), and those with an accepted abstract will be given
preference. Persons submitting abstracts must identify the theme
and topic track they consider most appropriate for their
presentation.

Registration fees, details and the abstract format will be described
on the ICIUM 2004 web site which will be up by the 1st December
2002. A limited number of scholarships covering registration fees,
travel, and hotel will be available to participants from poorer
countries who have abstracts accepted or who are key policy
makers.
 
Supported by: 

- The International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD)
- The World Health Organization Department of Essential Drugs
  and Medicines Policy (WHO-EDM)
- The Center for International Health, Boston University School of
  Public Health (BU-CIH)
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Ambulatory Care &
  Prevention (HMS)
- Management Sciences for Health (MSH)
- Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus (RPM Plus) 
- Strategies for Enhancing Access to Medicine (SEAM) 
- The Thai Network for Rational Use of Drugs (ThaiNRUD).

Dr John Chalker 
INRUD Coordinator 
Management Sciences for Health 
4301 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 400 
Arlington, VA 22203-1627, USA 
Tel (1) 703 248 1635 
Fax (1) 703 524 7898
e-mail: Jchalker@msh.org

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