Roberta Giodice, President of ESEO Italia – an association of families fighting eosinophilic esophagitis:
“What people living with Eosinophilic Esophagitis or other eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases experience every day is a true odyssey, as they search for treatment, research, and support that are still struggling to come from public institutions.”
Raising public awareness about the importance of proper health education in order to help reduce diagnostic delay for patients with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases—rare, chronic conditions that remain underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed, leaving many patients to suffer without adequate treatment despite the existence of guidelines and treatment opportunities worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This is the goal that the ESEO Italia association will pursue throughout the month of May through its awareness campaign on eosinophilic diseases, now in its fourth edition, which this year is further strengthened by new international collaborations, on the occasion of the first World Eosinophilic Esophagitis Day, and will feature initiatives across Italy and around the world.
More than 50 hospital teams will distribute the informational material prepared by the patient association ESEO Italia, which since 2017 has been building a network with national and international stakeholders to promote actions in support of patients, improve the quality of care, protect patients’ rights, and, more broadly, enhance the quality of life of patients and their families.
The May awareness campaign will involve the main centers of expertise across Italy, with free consultations, open days, and educational events in several hospitals and specialized outpatient clinics; training meetings for healthcare professionals on May 6 in Trieste, May 9 in Salerno, May 21 in Brescia, and May 30 in Castellana Grotte (Bari); an institutional debate on May 22 at the Italian Senate, in collaboration with Senator Orfeo Mazzella, to present World Eosinophilic Esophagitis Day; and a two-day event on May 24 and 25 in Bracciano (Rome), featuring meetings with patients’ families and medical experts.
To give greater visibility to World Eosinophilic Esophagitis Day on May 22 and World Eosinophilic Diseases Day on May 18, numerous well-known landmarks, monuments, and hospitals in the participating countries will be illuminated in magenta—from Niagara Falls in the United States to the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, Cincinnati Hospital, and many other monuments, archaeological sites, and hospitals in almost all Italian regions.
During the month of May, ESEO Italia will promote several initiatives aimed at raising awareness among institutions and the general public about the concerns and still unmet needs of patients living with eosinophilic esophagitis and eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, as well as of their caregivers. These initiatives will also include a series of activities at the global level, with dedicated meetings and communication efforts. The goal of World Eosinophilic Diseases Day on May 18 and World Eosinophilic Esophagitis Day on May 22, organized by the international alliance, is to raise public awareness about prevention and the importance of early diagnosis; encourage people who are unable to resolve their gastrointestinal problems or who experience symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, the need to drink a lot during meals, chest pain, or persistent reflux-like symptoms to seek medical advice; call on institutions to improve access to medical care, new treatments, and research funding in order to enhance patients’ quality of life worldwide; and support low- and middle-income countries by promoting greater investment in research, awareness, and medical education, especially in regions where these conditions are still largely neglected.
“National awareness campaigns are essential to increase diagnostic suspicion and public awareness of risk, helping both physicians and patients identify a diagnosis based on recognized signs and symptoms. Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of families who care every day for patients affected by these conditions, we want to renew an appeal to all institutions while encouraging every stakeholder to take concrete action to support those who already face this reality daily, the thousands of caregivers who look after them, and also those who are still wandering in search of a diagnosis,” says Roberta Giodice, President of the ESEO Italia Association.
