In the spotlight

EAHAD 2020 – Testimonials from our members

From 4 to 7 February, the EAHAD 2020 Congress took place in The Hague, Netherlands, with “A Golden Age of Treatment Choice” as its theme. More than 2300 delegates gathered at the World Forum for innovative discussions on the latest developments in the haemophilia and bleeding disorders field.

 

We asked some prominent members of the EAHAD community to share their feedback on our 13th Annual Congress.

 

This was one of the best EAHAD congresses ever in terms of science, networking and venue. Who would have predicted that the world would change so much a few weeks later.
 

Prof. Mike Makris
EAHAD Past President

 

In 2020, as well as in previous years, the EAHAD congress really met my expectations. It was a well organised event, where I was able to meet with colleagues I already knew, make new connections, as well as push forward current projects and improve existing liaisons.
I learned a lot and found that the information shared was important for the community. As I am a big fan of personalised medicine, I really liked the debate focused on pharmacokinetics-based prophylaxis. New treatments were also discussed, and the voice of patients was heard, something that – at least for me – is very important for my clinical work.
I enjoy that there is a dedicated “industry symposia day“ followed by the main scientific program. I believe, that this setup, together with the fact that there is no exhibition and no parallel sessions, make the EAHAD Congress unique and interesting for all who came, because it means that we can focus on sharing the information, learning and networking. For me, The Hague Congress was another successful and great scientific event. I am looking forward to the next one in Manchester.
 

Dr Jan Blatný
EAHAD Treasurer

 
The Congress was successful and well organized, both logistically and in terms of its content. The theme of “A Golden Age of Treatment Choice” was well reflected throughout the program. Congratulations to Prof. Dr Karin Fijnvandraat, the president of this year’s EAHAD Congress as well as the organising committee. I really enjoyed the Arosenius lecture given by Brian O’Mahony. The award was founded by Swedish haemophilia society in 1996 and is named after the Swedish artist, painter and writer Ivar Arosenius (1878- 1909) who himself had severe haemophilia and died of a major bleed at a young age. Listening to Brian’s speech, “Haemophilia care in Europe” and looking back to the journey that haemophilia societies, health care professionals and researchers have made is incredible. I am pretty sure that Ivar Arosenius would have been particularly pleased with the choice of this year’s lecturer.
 

Dr Fariba Baghaei
EAHAD Executive Committee member

 
It was great to be a part of the EAHAD Congress in The Hague. How much it had grown over the years and how much it is appreciated among the medical community… EAHAD is probably the best haemophilia congress in the world.
 

Dr Ana Boban
EAHAD Executive Committee member

 
EAHAD is such a wonderful friendly community, and EAHAD 2020 was a fantastic Congress in such a cool city; bikes, trams, beach, city – and it was all so chilled. I really enjoyed the physiotherapy pre-congress day – presentations focusing on evidence-based care were a feature and it was great to hear so many physiotherapists undertaking high quality novel and original research.
 

Dr David Stephensen
EAHAD Physiotherapists Committee Chair

 
This year’s EAHAD provided a unique opportunity to highlight psychosocial topics. It was our fourth Pre-Congress day and attendance was the highest so far. Along with two invited speakers, experts in the field of trauma treatment (Drs Carlijn de Roos) and psychosexual functioning (Prof. Dr Ellen Laan), we welcomed many psychologists and social workers, but also nurses and physiotherapists who were interested in expanding their knowledge. The multi-disciplinary session, as part of the main program, included psychosocial topics as well. It underscored the importance of psychosocial support for women. Personally, it was even more special, as we won a poster prize for promising new questionnaires measuring psychosocial outcomes (PROMIS). We are happy to look back on a highly successful conference and are very much looking forward to next meeting for which we intend to put together an even more interesting psychosocial program.
 

Dr Lotte Haverman
EAHAD Psychosocial Working Group Chair

 
I was really happy with this year‘s Pre-Congress Day, the last one I was actively involved in before stepping down from the EAHAD Physiotherapists Committee. Many of our Physiotherapists Network coordinators attended, representing hundreds of physios across Europe.
The level of the physiotherapy presentations on recent research was very high. We hope to soon be able to implement recent developments into the work of our network.
I am happy with how we made ourselves visible and showed the value of physiotherapy, especially to haematologists, but also to other allied health professionals, as well as persons with haemophilia.

 

Piet De Kleijn
2019 EAHAD Recognition Award Recipient, Physiotherapist