PELVIC FLOOR NETHERLANDS

Pelvic Floor Netherlands (PFN) is a Dutch foundation started in 1995 to promote a multidisciplinary approach to pelvic floor pathology. Multidisciplinarity needs co-operation and co-ordination. For this reason both the board and the advisory committee are made up of members of all the different disciplines: anatomist, colorectal surgeon, physiotherapist. gastro-enterologist, gynaecologist, general practitioner, incontinence nurse, paediatrician, clinical neurophysiologist, psychologist, urologist, midwife. At this moment there are more than 500 care givers supporting the activities of Pelvic Floor Netherlands

PFN has set up the following instruments to reach its goal:

Co-ordination

We support hospitals which want to set up a multidisciplinary team on pelvic floor problems. We did a surveillance in all the Dutch hospitals and this gave us a good insight into the present situation of co-ordination.

Research

We initiate research projects on pelvic floor pathology and on the multidisciplinary approach. There is a project starting on the prevention of pelvic floor problems by giving pelvic floor muscle exercises during pregnancy. There is a project on information delivery about pelvic floor problems. This is a combined project with care givers and patients. Our research committee can help investigators in setting up protocols and organising multidisciplinary, multicentre trials.

Education

We are involved in giving education to physiotherapists in a modular course on pelvic floor dysfunction. This is a large course with exams and a practical training period. The first module is a theoretical one and very appropriate to specialists in training. The second and third are practical and the fourth deals with pelvic floor problems in children. We are giving education to general practitioners and medical specialists. We are building an education program for general practitioners.

Profundum

"Profundum" is the journal of Pelvic Floor Netherlands and is issued 4 times a year. It is in Dutch and deals with all the different aspects of pelvic floor pathology.

International activities

Pelvic Floor Netherlands has initiated the ICS Pelvic floor clinical assessmentgroup. This is an international, multidisciplinary group started in 1998 to make a report on terminology and standardisation of pelvic floor pathology. This group is chaired by the chairman of PFN.

At the ICS Denver 1999 PFN is organising a workshop on Pelvic Care Centres. This workshop will discuss the ins and outs of a multidisciplinary center for all pelvic floor problems.

EJ Messelink, Chairman.