As 2023 draws to a close, we look back on our 10 years of IDDSI with deep appreciation to the global community and our many, many volunteers, sponsors and supporters who helped turn the dream of one common language for dysphagia diets, into reality.
2023 brought IDDSI Festivals to Asia, the UK and Canada – all of which were a huge success. We also saw the arrival of the IDDSI funnel to help ensure everyone can now access the equipment required to perform the IDDSI flow test accurately. We were excited to see many collaborative initiatives such as the Porridge and Mashed Potato projects as well as new networks, such as the Latin American regional IRG (comprised of representatives from Latin America and Mexico). IDDSI also welcomed 13 new IRG's into the IDDSI family in 2023. Our IDDSI family is growing with a total of 55 IRG’s around the world working hard on supporting IDDSI implementation. We were grateful to receive the support from 3 new sponsors in 2023 and deeply appreciate the ongoing support from all our sponsors.
For the IDDSI Board of Directions, the past 10 years of IDDSI has been an incredible journey and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported and helped move IDDSI implementation forward.
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We are looking forward with renewed energy to the next 10 years! |
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Webinars & IDDSI Learning
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Event: Pros and Cons of Thickening Liquids for Patients with Dysphagia
Date: Jan 17 (Americas) 6pm EST / Jan 18 (Australasia) 12pm NZTD
To see your local time, click on Show In My Time Zone.
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Session Description: This session will provide participants with an overview of the use of thickened liquids in both adults and children, and how the IDDSI flow test has benefited patients and providers. We will discuss current practice and the benefits that they may offer for some patients. We will also talk about the possible disadvantages of their use. We will critically appraise the evidence-base in this controversial clinical field of practice in both adults and children and discuss the current position of our international Association on their use.
Learner outcomes:
- Identify 3 pros of thickening liquids for adult and pediatric patients with dysphagia
- Identify 3 cons of thickening liquids for adult and pediatric patients with dysphagia
- Develop a balanced view of the role of thickening in dysphagia management
Laura Brooks M.Ed. CCC-SLP BCS-S received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and her Master’s degree from the University of Virginia. She has been a speech language pathologist since 1999, and has been board certified in swallowing disorders since 2012. She is a Clinical Specialist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta working with pediatric patients in the intensive care units and acute care units. She specializes in management of pediatric dysphagia and tracheostomy/ ventilator dependent patients. She has published research, journal articles, case studies, and textbook chapters related to pediatric dysphagia and tracheostomy/ventilator dependent patients. She serves on the Bioethics Committee, Global Tracheostomy Committee, and ICU Liberation/Early Mobility/ECMO Committee at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Dr Anna Miles is a practising speech-language therapist with 25+ years of experience working in the acute and community setting. Anna is an Associate Professor at The University of Auckland. She is a researcher, lecturer and clinician in the area of voice and swallowing disorders. Anna runs a hospital-based student teaching clinic as well as an outpatient voice and swallowing rehabilitation clinic. She is the New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association Expert Adviser in Adult Dysphagia.
Dr Miles has ~130 peer reviewed publications and 1900+ citations. The Swallowing Research Laboratory in the Centre of Brain Research at The University of Auckland, led by Dr Miles, strives to improve the lives of people with swallowing difficulties through improved assessment, treatment and medical education.
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HOLD THE DATE!!!
US IDDSI Festival 2024
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Pre-register for the 2024 US IDDSI Festival and get on the contact list. We will contact those who pre-register for the festival and give them priority registration! Take a few moments to get on the list now.
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Interested to host an IDDSI Festival for your country or region in the future?
Contact office@iddsi.org for more information and let us know your interest.
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ESSD 2023 (Toulouse, France)
Many thanks to the European Society of Swallowing Disorders (ESSD) for hosting IDDSI and providing us with an opportunity to exhibit at the congress. We were thrilled that the IDDSI booth had so many visitors! Not a single one asked 'What is IDDSI?' and many remarked that they are in the process of implementing or have implemented IDDSI. The most surprising one of all is from an attendee who came from Armenia who reported that they have already implemented IDDSI at their hospital.
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Dr. Catriona Steele highlighted IDDSI as one of her career achievements.
Thank you to Dr. Steele!
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We were very proud to be able to provide IDDSI Testing Reference Cards in 7 languages (thanks to all our amazing translation volunteers)!!! |
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IRG leaders from Turkey, Japan, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal, Germany and even as far as Hong Kong got together for a meet & greet and shared stories from their regional IDDSI communities. |
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We look forward seeing everyone at the 2024 ESSD Congress! |
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Translations
We are very excited to announce more great work has been made towards translations. Translations for IDDSI Audit Tools in Slovenian are now finalized and can be found here and the IDDSI Poster translation in Swedish can be found here
We would like to extend our thanks to the following for their hard work and dedication:
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Slovenia: Tina Pogorelčnik
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Sweden: Sara Dahlström and Rosanna Cunningham
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13 New IRG's in 2023!
What a fabulous year IDDSI has had - 13 new IRG's were formed!
Congratulations to:
- Argentina
- Culinary
- Food Science
- Kuwait
- Long Term Care
- Nepal
- Norway
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Saudi Arabia
- Spain
- Türkiye
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If there is IDDSI implementation activity happening in your part of the world and you do not see the information on the IDDSI website or mentioned in the e-bite, please contact us and let us know, We will be most happy to acknowledge your contribution and let the rest of the world know what you are doing.
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Take a look below to see what global and different reference groups are doing to support IDDSI Implementation. |
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The Culinary and Food Science IRGs are excited to announce a full programme for 2024. The two reference groups will be collaborating on projects that will promote knowledge of how to create delicious food and drinks suitable for IDDSI.
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We would be delighted to be joined by people passionate about food and drink; food science; or just eating great food!
Whatever you feel your level of experience is, join one of our ‘Get together’ meetings in January:
22/01/24 – Meeting 1 #1
29/01/24 – Meeting 1 #2
Further programme below:
08/04/24 – Meeting 2
08/07/24 – Meeting 3
23/09/24 – Meeting 4
11/11/24 – Meeting 5
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LTC: The Long-Term Care IDDSI reference group represents practitioners from around the world who work in all types of post-acute care settings or/and with geriatrics. Long term care looks different within countries! We have been gathering monthly to explore similarities, differences, ideas, and overall IDDSI implementation barriers and solutions.
Would you like to join us?
We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 1pm Eastern Time.
Please reach out to be included on our monthly email invites and come share your story! Contact us at longtermcare@iddsi.net
Many thanks to Annie Govea for all her contribution and leadership to get the LTC IRG up and running and we wish her the very best in her new endeavour.
My name is Mary Rybicki and I am a dietitian who lives in the Boston area, USA. I am the new leader of this group and look forward to connecting with you soon!
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Malta: IDDSI featured on the topic of Dysphagia during a Clinical Focus Day on November 29th, 2023 in Malta. The programme consisted of topics covering assessment and management of dysphagia to an audience of SLPs, nurses and carers. Also included in the programme was a practical workshop to test IDDSI levels across a variety of foods and drinks available locally.
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Norway: Introducing new Norway IRG leader, Ronny Nilsen and the start of the Norway IDDSI Reference Group.
IDDSI ønsker å etablere en norsk referansegruppe, og søker frivillige og fagpersoner inkludert helsepersonell, logopeder, representanter fra matindustrien, institusjonskokker og personer med spise- og svelgevansker eller pårørende til å være del av gruppen. Tidligere beskjeftigelse med IDDSIs retningslinjer er ikke et krav. For mer informasjon, kontakt Norge.
IDDSI wishes to establish a norwegian reference group, and seeks volunteers and professionals including health personnel, speech and language therapists, food industry representatives, care institution chefs, and persons with eating and swallowing disorders or caregivers to be part of the group. Previous involvement with IDDSI guidelines are not a prerequisite. For more information, contact Norway.
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Saudi Arabia: Introducing new IRG Leaders, Sarah Al Malik & Samar Alsaad & the start of the Saudi Arabia IDDSI Reference Group.
In Saudi Arabia, an IDDSI reference group is currently being assembled. It will be a collaborative effort of multiple professionals. The group is looking for volunteers to help with the implementation of IDDSI throughout the Saudi Arabia Health Sectors. We are now looking for volunteers to help advise, promote, advocate, facilitate, and support IDDSI implementation in Saudi Arabia. If you are interested in joining, please contact Saudi Arabia
تعتبر هذه المبادرة من المفاهيم المستحدثة خلال السنوات القليلة الماضية و في طور الانتشار في مختلف المستشفيات في مناطق المملكة العربية السعودية. و بسبب قلة المعرفة لدى معظم الممارسين الصحيين بمختلف التخصصات بهذه المعايير فإن الجهود موجهة نحو زيادة الوعي وتطبيقها في القطاع الصحي.
مؤخرا في عام ٢٠١٩ نجحت واحدة من أكبر مستشفيات التأهيل على مستوى المملكة العربية السعودية في تطبيق بعض من هذه المعايير بفضل تكاتف الجهود و الخبرات من العاملين في المستشفى بمختلف التخصصات. لذلك كان الهدف من إنشاء هذه المجموعة هو أن تساهم بشكل فعال في توسيع و نشر هذه المبادرة على نطاق واسع من القطاع الصحي الخاص و العام و ذلك بنشر الوعي و المعرفة بتلك المعايير و المواصفات و توفير الدعم و المصادر لتحقيق ذلك
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USA: USIRG at ASHA is in the news! Check out the details here
You can visit the USIRG's webpage here for more information or email them at usa@iddsi.net
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IDDSI Reference Group Volunteering |
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If you are interested in joining an IDDSI Reference Group, please email the contact for the group. We welcome everyone who wants to help with guiding & fostering IDDSI implementation. Being part of a reference group is a great opportunity to meet IDDSI friends in your local, regional area. And you never know, something amazing may happen when great brains come together! |
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Don't see an IDDSI Reference Group for your practise or regional area? Interested in starting an IDDSI reference group to help support IDDSI implementation in your regional or practice area? Fill out the form here.
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If you have any suggestions for webinar topics, we’d love to hear them! Head over to our Contact Us form, choose subject “Webinars”, and let us know what you’d like to see in the upcoming months.
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Previous Webinars and Recordings |
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Missed any of our other webinars? All our webinars are recorded and can be found on here, but please note rewatching the webinars on YouTube will not provide you with a Certificate of Attendance.
If you register and then cannot attend a webinar, PLEASE make sure to cancel so we may open another spot up for someone else. Thank you very much for your consideration.
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Upcoming Events:
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United Kingdom Swallowing Research Group (UKSRG) Conference - Edgbaston Hotel and Conference Centre, Birmingham, UK February 8-9, 2024 https://www.uksrg.org.uk/conferences/ Come and visit with UK IDDSI Reference Group members and IDDSI Board members at the IDDSI Exhibitor Booth. There will be IDDSI resources available!
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Dysphagia Research Society Annual Conference 2024 – San Juan, Puerto Rico March 12-15, 2024 https://www.dysphagiaresearch.org/page/2024-Annual-Meeting Visit the IDDSI booth at DRS 2024 and connect with others from the IDDSI community. If you wish to help at the IDDSI booth at DRS 2024, please contact office@iddsi.org
If you are aware of other events where IDDSI will be featured, please share the information with us by sending the details to: office@iddsi.org
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From our families to yours, we wish everyone around the world peace, joy and a magical holiday season! |
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