Purpose or Case Report: Purpose: Created in 2011, WFPI has spent the last 5 years overcoming geographic, temporal, cultural and linguistic distances to define its added value in the global imaging arena. Have the efforts been worth it?
Methods & Materials: Methods: WFPI’s member organizations and members of the Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR) were asked to consider WFPI’s priorities, projects and structure. The responses were tied into WFPI’s output and strategic approach.
Results: Results: Members of regional societies and 273 individual members of SPR provided feedback. The results provided WFPI’s leadership with guidance on member support, dissent and future strategies. The large majority felt that WFPI’s inclusive set-up, networking and aim of providing a united front to address the challenges in global pediatric imaging should be pursued. Attracting external funding is a challenge. Intrinsic initiatives run by member societies are important to maintain; WFPI can play a critical role in global dissemination of tools, “lessons learnt” and give recognition by an international pediatric radiology body. Highest ranking priorities include global imaging safety, online education and advocacy. WFPI partnered with the Image Gently Alliance to promote efficient and effective use of resources; consolidation and expansion to regional initiatives elsewhere is now a must. WFPI offers educational web pages, social media and an online video library (11 videos posted to date, viewed over 5000 times) launched with SPR in 2015. Advocacy underpins WFPI’s work, encompassing WHO/IAEA workshops, RAD-AID conferences, WFUMB and ACR outreach committees and IDoR 2015. To avoid resource duplication WFPI adopts a “bolt on” approach, actively engaging with other organizations to leverage pre-existing resources and infrastructure. Examples: Imaging the World in Malawi/Uganda and RAD-AID in Laos/Ghana, ACR educational courses in Haiti, telereading and field manuals for MSF and partnership with the CHOP/USA fellowship program in Ethiopia.
Conclusions: Conclusion: WFPI members and most SPR respondent members believe that WFPI “is the right way to go”. It has taken time to mould but international organizations must continuously morph. Consisted of expert professionals, WFPI seeks to create tools and generate resources for leverage by multiple groups and use where the need/desire arises. This choice is relevant and impactful and has the chance to make change at scale.