Planning a Consultation
Consultation Year Minus 2
- 2 years before a planned consultation the ICUD Steering Committee appoint a Chairperson for the Consultation, and decide the venue for that Consultation
- The Chair of the Consultation, in discussion with the Steering Committee
- defines the committee structure, each committee having a defined role, for example epidemiology or economics
- chooses a Chair, and possibly a co-chair for each committee. The ICUD invites these individuals to Chair the relevant committee
- with the Committee Chairs, develops each committee, usually with 4-8 members, of the highest academic credentials and properly representing all relevant specialities and geographical areas of the world
Consultation Year Minus 1
- 1 year before the Consultation the ICUD invites the committee members to join specified committees
- The Chair of the Committee
- ensures that the Chairs / committee members are fully involved and understand the principles of providing an evidence based report from each Committee, according to the ICUD-EBM paper (available here)
- each report for each Committee will be a chapter in the book of the Consultation. A stated search strategy leads to a review of the literature being given levels of evidence. The levels of evidence allow grades of recommendation to be given to treatments and sometimes to methods of assessment.
- ensures that the committee work is discussed between members
- ensures that each committee arranges to meet, usually at the AUA, EAU or SIU meetings
- ensures that each committee arrives at the Consultation with a near final draft of their committee report
- ensures that the first draft is edited by a native English speaker (normally one of the Committee members if Chair is non native English speaker)
The Specific Programme at an ICUD Consultation
- Pre-consultation Committee meetings are held the day before the Consultation proper
- the formal draft is reviewed
- the PowerPoint presentation of the Chair to the Consultation is planned
- any outstanding issues are resolved
- Each Chair gives a 30-45 minute presentation to the Consultation which details
- the main findings of that Committee. The audience is invited to question the Committee and due note is taken of valid criticisms of the work.
- The Scientific Committee of the Consultation meets on the day after the Consultation to produce its report which includes
- Recommendations on the investigation and management of the patient group and any relevant sub-groups for example, incontinence in children and bladder pain syndrome, as in the Consultation on Incontinence (2009).
Publishing the findings from an ICUD Consultation
Three types of publications result from ICUD Consultations:
1. The Report of the Scientific Committee: the Scientific Committee consists of the Chair and Co Chairs of the Consultations and the Chairs of each committee. Report should be published in a peer reviewed journal and if brief at the back of the book of the Consultation
2. Book from the Consultation: these books are highly appreciated and often become regarded as the “bible” for that subject as
- The book is produced very shortly after the Consultation, within 6-12 months
- The book is fully referenced
- Every chapter is a committee report and should conclude with a prioritised list of research studies, to solve outstanding basic research and clinical questions
- The ICUD aims to have all its books freely available, from this site and through providers such as Amazon
3. Papers, derived from aspects/topics from the Consultation, can be submitted to journals. This ensures that the hard work of the Committee members is fully disseminated to the Scientific Community. Papers should not be published within 6 months of the publication date of the book for the consultation.
