AAWC News

Scholarship funds increased

Thanks to careful financial planning by the Association, its Board of Directors approved an increase in funds for the yearly AAWC Scholarship from $6500 to $9000. An additional $1000 is allotted for a member who is bestowed the Robert A. Warriner, MD, III Memorial Award. Applications are being accepted for teaching, learning, and travel/exchange programs. The Scholarship Program is open from January 1 to August 31. Visit https://aawconline.org/ to learn more about this beneficial program.

AAWC 2017 Board of Directors Election winners will be announced at SAWC Spring

Elections closed on February 2. The AAWC is grateful to all members who by voting helped determine the future leaders of the AAWC. An official announcement regarding all transitioning members of the AAWC Board of Directors is forthcoming. Elected board members will attend the Annual Board of Directors Meeting and will officially take office at the Annual AAWC Membership Meeting. These meetings are held in conjunction with the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), which will be held April 5–9, 2017 in San Diego, CA.

AAWC Podium to Practice Track at SAWC Spring 

When reviewing the SAWC schedule, be sure to choose sessions from the AAWC Podium to Practice Track, developed and presented by members for members. Nonmembers also are encouraged to attend these sessions; nonmembers who join before or as they register will enjoy the AAWC Membership 20% discount on the conference, which can cover an entire year of membership dues.

The Podium to Practice Track’s practical and innovative 14 sessions include Aligning Relevant Wound Endpoints with Current Evidence, Choosing the Appropriate CTP for the Appropriate Patient, and How to Help Patients Succeed in Wound Healing: “Let’s Make a Deal.”

The Association developed the AAWC Podium to Practice Track to cover not only what to do to advance wound care as a professional practice and career, but also to empower the practitioner with knowledge about how to do it. Practical tips and pearls will be provided that can be easily implemented. 

Wound-care Experts/FDA – Clinical Endpoints Project (WEF-CEP) update

The Wound-care Experts/FDA-Clinical Endpoints Project (WEF-CEP) is a collaborative initiative between the AAWC (host association) and the Wound Healing Society (co-host association) interacting with the Inter-Center Wound Healing Work Group [ICWHWG] at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Initiated in 2014, the WEF-CEP initiative aims to identify meaningful, evidence-based clinical and patient-centered endpoints in addition to complete wound healing for examination in clinical studies and for approval of new devices and treatments through the FDA. The overarching goal is to improve wound care clinical research and encourage the approval of new advanced treatments for people suffering with wounds.

Since the project began, the WEF-CEP, with input from the FDA and ICWHWG, surveyed 628 physician and nonphysician practitioners on 28 literature-based, clinical and patient-centered wound care endpoints. Clinicians rated the endpoints for relevance and importance to clinical practice, patients’ lives, and clinical research; 15 endpoints were evaluated for their relevance to improving quality of life. Of the 22 content-validated endpoints, 15 were chosen by a wound care expert team as meriting potential inclusion as additional endpoints for FDA approval of future wound care interventions. Five (5) research volunteer teams of wound care experts evaluated data based on FDA criteria; analysis confirmed clinical evidence is adequate to support all 15 of the high-priority endpoints based on FDA criteria. 

In January 2017, the WEF-CEP team submitted the results of the clinical survey for publication. The research phase results will be submitted for publication later in the first quarter of 2017.  

The WEF-CEP also developed a patient survey based on the same patient-centered questions in the clinician survey to validate clinician perceptions. This survey is under IRB approval; patient recruitment opportunities will be announced at the AAWC, WHS, and other websites. 

The FDA recently invited the WEF-CEP advisory team to present the project findings to the FDA staff. Watch for more exciting news regarding this project! 

About AAWC 

AAWC is the largest not-for-profit membership organization in the United States dedicated to interprofessional wound healing and tissue preservation. AAWC’s mission is to advance the care of people with and at risk for wounds. The Association’s focus is on education, public policy, and the application of evidence-based wound care practice. AAWC offers membership and associated benefits to everyone involved in wound care, including clinicians and other healthcare professionals, patients, lay-caregivers, clinics/facilities, corporations, students, retirees, and advocates. Learn more about AAWC benefits, activities and programs, and/or join at www.aawconline.org.

This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.