International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes

The International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes is a professional organization located in Berlin, Germany, whose aims are to promote clinical and basic science, research, education and advocacy in childhood and adolescent diabetes. ISPAD publishes the journal "Pediatric Diabetes". The organization was established in 1974.
About ISPAD.
The International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) is a professional organization that brings together doctors, nurses, dieticians, psychologists, scientists and other professionals to improve the treatment of children and families afflicted by diabetes throughout the world. ISPAD seeks to improve the understanding of the etiology and epidemiology of diabetes. ISPAD educates physicians and other health care professionals to better understand and care for children and adolescents with diabetes. Furthermore, the Society has developed guidelines for appropriate diabetes care and assists in the implementation of new protocols for therapy.
Activities.
Annual conference.
The 40th Annual Conference of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, ISPAD 2014, will take place September 3–6, 2014, in Toronto, Canada. In the last four years the ISPAD Annual Conference has been held in Gothenburg (2013), Istanbul (2012), Miami (2011), and Buenos Aires (2010).
Travel grants.
ISPAD also supports attendance at the annual conferences through the awarding of travel grants. Grants are awarded either to individuals based on the quality or to individuals from non-high-income countries as ‘Developing World Initiative Travel Grants’.
Post-graduate courses.
ISPAD also supports post-graduate courses and workshops organized by members worldwide on the basis that these members organize the courses and raise most of the funding. Recent venues have included Jamaica, Romania, Jordan and Peru.
Science schools.
The ISPAD Science and Research School for Physicians annual science school brings together 20 to 25 young researchers from across the world to take part in a learning program and engage in discussion with leading experts in the field. Courses have been held in Sydney, Cambridge (UK), and Kyoto.
ISPAD Science School for Healthcare Professionals is held each year just prior to the annual conference and is aimed at helping health professionals other than doctors to develop a scientific and evidence-based approach to their work with children and young people with diabetes.
Prizes.
The society also has a well-established set of yearly prizes.
Fellowships.
ISPAD awards two fellowships:
Journal.
ISPAD publishes Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines for the management of diabetes in children and adolescents. These are published in "Pediatric Diabetes", ISPAD’s official journal.
Other activities.
ISPAD Consensus Guidelines.
In 2009, the comprehensive "ISPAD Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines" were published as a compendium in "Pediatric Diabetes". These are evidence-based guidelines compiled under the editorship of Dr Peter Swift, former Secretary General of ISPAD with the co-authors Ragnar Hanas, Kim C. Donaghue and Georgeanna Klingensmith. The guidelines are used worldwide and referenced extensively.