June 2014 (Report on ANSS meeting in Graz)
Report of the Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS)
April to June 2014
The EC of the ANSS met in association with the ANSS meeting in Graz (May 2014) and had frequent contacts via e-mail and telephone conferences (April 2014). Our activities can be summarized as follows:
The main activity during the past 3 months was the organization of the Annual ANNS meeting in Graz, Austria, together with the ESRS Board and relevant ESRS committees. Attendance was all time high with 28 (out of total 30) National Sleep Societies represented and the attendance of the entire ESRS Board. We had intense and fruitful discussions on a large variety of topics: Education, certification, current developments, reimbursement, development of research networks, and the impact of sleep disorders on traffic safety. All activities of the ESRS were presented and the interaction of ESRS and national sleep societies were highlighted. In this context, the different dimensions of the Wake up Bus project and it´s outcome were presented and discussed. Regarding sleep research, a mapping of research activities in the different ANSS countries was introduced including a publication ranking between European countries. The results will be presented at the Tallinn meeting. We would like to express our gratitude to Wolfgang Mallin and the Austrian Sleep Society for hosting us and the perfectly organized meeting.
Finally, three new members of the Executive Committee of the Assembly of National Sleep Societies were elected:
We congratulate Liborio Parrino (Italy), Erna Sif Arnardottir (Iceland), and Johan Verbraecken (Belgium) on election to their new positions. The official exchange of committee members will take place at the Tallinn congress in September.
In addition, the ANSS-EC finalized the following activities:
I. Reimbursement of Sleep Procedures across Europe (M. Gjerstad et al.)
II. Development of education, certification and accreditation in sleep medicine by National Sleep Societies in Europe during 2010 – 2013 (S. Mihaicuta et al.)
Those two reports are based on information collected from the National Sleep Societies via the ANSS network.
III. Sleepiness at the wheel across Europe: a survey of 19 countries
The results of the Wake Up Bus Sleep Study have been analysed by Raquel Lucas and Marta Goncalves (Oporto). A manuscript has been prepared in cooperation with the ESRS appointed sleep expert panel for submission by the end of Q II 2014.
IV. Update of the ANSS webpages: We changed the wording of the ANSS webpages and included the recent developments. We ask all presidents and board members to update the information about their National Sleep Society. Please contact Brigitte Knobl (esrs.bk@online.de) for any changes to be implemented.
Michaela D Gjerstad, Marta Goncalves, Stefan Mihaicuta, Javier Puertas, Ludger Grote
Executive Committee, Assembly of National Sleep Societies
Attachments:
- Protocol ANSS meeting in Graz
- Report 1: Reimbursement of Sleep Procedures across Europe
- Report 2: Development of education, certification and accreditation in sleep medicine by National Sleep Societies in Europe during 2010 – 2013
- Two pictures reflecting the wonderful atmosphere at the Annual ANSS meeting in Graz
The ANSS presidents, the ESRS board and the ANSS executive committee at the famous GRAZ Clock Tower – a guided tour organized by Wolfgang Mallin from the Austrian Sleep Society.
The ANSS presidents, the ESRS board and the ANSS executive committee at the famous GRAZ Clock Tower – a guided tour organized by Wolfgang Mallin from the Austrian Sleep Society.