EMAS plays an important role in the matrix of societies that address menopausal and postmenopausal health worldwide.
The EMAS Board brings together specialists and practitioners whose nationalities span the geographic range of Europe from East to West and North to South. We seek to move forward the interests of appropriate healthcare for the andropause and menopause in the European context.
Within menopause we have Societies at the vital national level which provide the coherence for practice in each country. These provide a platform for discussion of developments in research and clinical practice as relevant to that country, possibly for the organization of training courses and accreditation of practitioners if the healthcare system permits this, and certainly for the social interactions that are so important to the atmosphere in any field of practice. At the world level we have the International Menopause Society (IMS) which serves as the principal body for the global professional community whose focus is postmenopausal health and its management.
EMAS as a Regional Society sits between these two levels taking a Regional/Continental view and thus addresses the European perspective. A Regional Society might expect that its constituent Societies share reasonable commonality of their populations and clinical context that is not possible with a worldwide perspective.Within Europe there is significant diversity resulting from the diversity of healthcare systems and the different resources available in different countries. Where there are differences of approach and practice it is impossible to say which is more correct than another. Presumably national approaches have evolved in response to the local context yet with the same evidence base of knowledge. I am convinced that from this diversity in Europe we have a lot to learn about optimal strategies for the care of menopausal and postmenopausal European women. The Europe-wide remit of EMAS provides a base from which to explore these questions collaboratively.
Every three years the activity of EMAS focuses on the EMAS International Conference which provides the opportunity for those interested in the field to gather in a major European Centre for education and the presentation of the latest research as well as the exchange of ideas and networking. Following the success of EMAS 2006 Conference in Istanbul we now look forward to EMAS 2009 which will be in London in collaboration with the British Menopause Society. The work of the Scientific Committee for EMAS 2009 is ongoing and we look forward to a memorable event.
Professor David H Barlow
President of EMAS