February 2010

Don't forget that the main call for abstracts for World Physical Therapy 2011 has now been issued. All submissions must be made electronically via the WCPT website. For further details and to view the full list of topics please go to www.wcpt.org/congress/abstracts.

For those with limited or no experience of submitting an abstract for a scientific congress, WCPT has put an abstract mentoring programme in place from 1 January to 30 June 2010. For further information go to http://www.wcpt.org/congress/mentoring.

The closing date for abstract submissions is 15 September. 

WCPT jointly hosted the second World Health Professions' Conference on Regulation (WHPCR) on the 18th & 19th of this month. Policy makers and advisors attended alongside leading academics and government officials to shape the future of health professional regulation. 

The physical therapy profession was well represented with lectures and workshops given by leaders in their fields. Presentations will be available on the website in the near future.

For further information on regulation please visit the WCPT website at http://www.wcpt.org/practice/regulation.

The World Health Organization has recently published a casebook on ethical issues in international health issues. It looks at how research involving human participants must be conducted in a manner that respects the dignity, safety and rights of research participants and must recognise the responsibilities of researchers.  For the full text please go to www.who.int/rpc/research_ethics/en/.

Further information on research methodology is available within the Practice section of the WCPT website at www.wcpt.org/node/29666.

Following the success of the First Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, the second is now being planned.  It will take place on 25-29 January 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. 

The first Forum held in Uganda in 2008 called for immediate and sustained action to resolve the critical shortage of health workers around the world. Attendees at the Forum endorsed the Kampala Declaration and the Agenda for Global Action. This high profile event was attended by nearly 1500 participants, including donors, experts and ministers of health, education and finance.

For further information please visit the WCPT website at www.wcpt.org/node/29151.

New Zealand Society conference
The New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists is inviting members of WCPT member organisations to attend their scientific conference in Auckland, New Zealand, 14-16 May 2010 – at the same registration price as NZSP members.

International and New Zealand speakers will address the theme “Working together: research and practice”. For further information and to register go to http://www.physiotherapy.org.nz/Event.

Africa region congress and meeting
The Africa region meeting will be held in Accra, Ghana on 20 July 2010, with a pre-congress workshop on 19 July and the main congress programme on 21-23 July. The theme of the congress is "Moving physical therapy forward in Africa".

For further information and to register for the congress go to http://www.wcptafrica.org/home.php?D=31.

Conference: physiotherapy in Europe and beyond
This international congress examines the challenges for physical therapists working in end of life care. It is aimed at therapists working in palliative care and will focus on everyday practical and psychosocial challenges.

The conference will be in London on 25-26 October 2010. For further details go to www.stchristophers.org.uk/physioeurope.