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Multinational Committee

Multinational, Cross-Cultural Research in the FGIDs

Final Report of the Multinational working team - January 2014

The increasing interest in research in IBS and other functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) and the growing sophistication of communication technology make cross-cultural, multinational research a feasible endeavor. Collaborative multinational, cross-cultural studies in FGIDs, using appropriate research methodology, can make a significant contribution to the understanding of FGIDs and to patient care.

The Rome Foundation has taken the initiative in this direction by organizing the IBS-Global Perspective symposium, held in Milwaukee in April 2011. It has also taken important steps in developing a Translation Project to make research instruments, in particular the Rome III questionnaires and diagnostic criteria, available in as many languages as possible for clinical and research purposes. Dr. Sperber, who initiated the conference and heads the Translation Project, also published a paper in Neurogastroenterology and Motility in 2009 on "The challenge of cross-cultural, multi-national research: potential benefits in the functional gastrointestinal disorders". Thus, the Rome Foundation is well situated to continue to take the lead in this important area.

Proposal:
To continue this initiative we propose the establishment of a Rome working team that will be commissioned to develop plans to facilitate multinational research in the FGIDs. This committee would formulate recommendations and guidelines for FGID research from a cross-cultural perspective.

The product of this committee's deliberations should be of interest and use for researchers, clinicians, and regulatory agencies and could generate interest among potential pharmaceutical sponsors. In addition, this committee would serve as one of the Rome IV support committees providing data for Rome IV content.