ostomyinternational.org

The International Ostomy Association (IOA) is an umbrella organization that connects national and regional ostomy associations worldwide. If you are looking for local support, the most direct route is to check the IOA's member association network, then contact the association covering your country or region. The IOA itself describes its mission as promoting quality of life for ostomates around the world, and its site lists member associations as a core part of that work.

What the IOA Is and What It Does

The IOA is a federation of ostomy associations rather than a direct service provider for individual patients. Its stated activities include:

• Promoting quality of life for ostomates worldwide
• Maintaining a network of member associations across countries and regions
• Publishing a Charter of Ostomates Rights
• Providing continuing medical education for surgeons and specialists

Because the IOA works through its members, finding support near you usually means finding the IOA member association for your country, not contacting the IOA directly for individual care.

How to Find a Member Association Near You

Step 1: Check the IOA member associations list

The IOA site includes a section titled "Member Associations of the IOA." This is the primary directory for locating the national or regional association that covers your area. Look for your country or region in that list.

Step 2: Identify the right level of association

Ostomy support is often organized at the national level, with local chapters or support groups underneath. If your country has a member association, start there and ask whether it has a local branch or a support group near you.

Step 3: Contact the association directly

Once you have the name of the relevant association, use the contact details provided on its own website or through the IOA listing. When you reach out, it helps to state:

• Your location (city or region)
• Whether you are an ostomate, a family member, or a caregiver
• What kind of support you are looking for (peer support, information, medical referrals)

Step 4: Ask about local support groups

National associations frequently maintain lists of local groups, visiting services, or online communities. If no group exists in your immediate area, ask whether telephone or online support is available.

What Member Associations Commonly Offer

Exact services vary by country, but ostomy associations in the IOA network typically provide:

Because services differ between associations, confirm what is available in your country rather than assuming a standard set of offerings.

If Your Country Has No Member Association

Not every country is represented in the IOA network. If you cannot find a member association for your location:

• Check whether a neighboring country's association covers your region or offers remote support.
• Look for national health services or hospitals that run stoma care clinics.
• Ask the IOA through its published contact channels whether any associate or emerging group covers your area.

The IOA site does not indicate that it provides individual medical advice, so treat it as a gateway to member organizations rather than a clinical service.

A Note on the IOA's Wider Role

Beyond the directory, the IOA supports education and recognition within the ostomy community. Its site references the Archie Vinitsky Awards and past conferences, such as the 2023 Singapore conference. These are signs of an active international network, but for day-to-day support your first stop should still be your national member association.

Quick Checklist

1. Go to the IOA site and open the member associations section.
2. Find your country or region.
3. Note the association's name and contact details.
4. Contact it and ask about local groups and services.
5. If nothing covers your area, ask the IOA or a neighboring association about alternatives.

The International Ostomy Association (IOA) states on its official site that it provides continuing medical education for surgeons and specialists. That is the core, verifiable claim: the IOA positions professional education as one of its main activities alongside promoting quality of life for ostomates and maintaining a Charter of Ostomates Rights. The site does not publish a detailed public catalogue of courses, credit hours, or registration steps, so anyone seeking specifics should treat the IOA as a starting point and confirm details directly with the organization or its member associations.

What the IOA Says About Its Professional Education Role

The IOA's own headings and content describe four pillars of activity:

• Promoting quality of life for ostomates around the world
• Maintaining a network of member associations
• Publishing the Charter of Ostomates Rights
• Providing continuing medical education for surgeons and specialists

The fourth item is the relevant one here. The IOA frames professional education as part of its mission, not as a separate commercial training business. That framing matters: it suggests the education is tied to improving ostomy care standards globally rather than to selling courses.

Who the Education Is For

Based on the IOA's own wording, the intended audience is:

• Surgeons — particularly those performing ostomy-creating procedures
• Specialists — clinicians involved in ostomy care, such as stoma care nurses, gastroenterologists, and related professionals

The IOA does not, in the material available, break this down further into sub-specialties or list eligibility requirements. If you are a clinician trying to determine whether a specific IOA-linked program applies to your role, the practical step is to contact the IOA or your national ostomy association and ask directly.

What Form the Education Takes

The IOA site does not lay out a course schedule, module list, or delivery format in the available content. What can be said with confidence is limited to the organization's stated purpose. For a clinician, the realistic ways to access IOA-linked education are:

1. Through IOA conferences — the IOA holds international conferences (a 2023 Singapore conference is referenced in site content), which typically include professional sessions.
2. Through member associations — the IOA lists member associations by country; these national bodies often run their own training and may host IOA-affiliated events.
3. By contacting the IOA directly — since the site does not publish a public course directory, direct inquiry is the most reliable route.

How This Connects to Care Quality

The logic behind the IOA's education work is straightforward: better-trained surgeons and specialists produce better surgical outcomes and better long-term stoma care. The IOA pairs this with the Charter of Ostomates Rights, which sets out what patients should expect. Education for professionals and rights for patients are two sides of the same goal — raising the standard of ostomy care worldwide.

Practical Steps If You Want to Participate

• Check the IOA website for current announcements about conferences or educational events.
• Identify your country's IOA member association and ask whether it hosts or coordinates professional education.
• Contact the IOA directly to ask what continuing medical education is currently available for your specialty.
• If you need accredited continuing education credits, ask specifically whether any IOA-linked activity carries accreditation — the site does not state this.

What the Site Does Not Tell You

To avoid wasted effort, note what is absent from the available IOA content: no course titles, no schedules, no fees, no credit information, and no registration process. Any of these details would need to come from the IOA or a member association directly. Treating the IOA as a network and advocacy body that includes professional education among its activities is accurate; treating it as a self-service online course platform is not supported by the evidence.

The International Ostomy Association (IOA) is a global umbrella organization that promotes quality of life for ostomates — people who have had ostomy surgery — through a network of member associations, medical education, and advocacy. Its official site, ostomyinternational.org, is the central reference point for that mission. It is most useful if you are an ostomate, a family member, or a health professional looking for a national support organization, educational resources, or a statement of patient rights.

What the IOA does

The site states its purpose directly: "We Promote Quality of Life for Ostomates Around the World." Three functions stand out from the published content:

• A network of member associations. The IOA lists "Member Associations of the IOA," meaning it works through national or regional ostomy groups rather than acting as a direct service provider in every country.
• Continuing medical education. The organization states it provides "continuing Medical Education for Surgeons and Specialists," positioning it as a bridge between patients and the clinical community.
• Advocacy through a rights framework. The "Charter of Ostomates Rights" is a published statement of what ostomates should be able to expect in care and daily life.

Who it is for

How to use the site

1. Find your country's association. Check the member associations section first. If your country is listed, contact that group directly — it will know local suppliers, clinics, and support meetings.
2. Read the Charter of Ostomates Rights. This is useful if you need a clear, published statement of standards to discuss with a care team or employer.
3. Check the news and awards section. The site carries items such as the Archie Vinitsky Awards 2026 and notes from past conferences (for example, the 2023 Singapore conference), which show current activity and events.

Practical notes

• The IOA is a coordinating and advocacy body, not a clinic or a product supplier. Expect to be directed to a member association for hands-on help.
• The site is in English (en-US), so non-English speakers may need to rely on their national association for translated material.
• No pricing or membership fee information appears in the available site content, so do not assume access terms either way — check with the relevant member association.

If your goal is local, practical support, start with the member association for your country. If your goal is to understand the international standards and advocacy side of ostomy care, the Charter of Ostomates Rights and the medical education pages are the place to begin.

The Charter of Ostomates Rights is a statement of principles published by the International Ostomy Association (IOA) that sets out what people living with a stoma should be able to expect from health systems, professionals, and society. It appears as a standing section on the IOA's official site (ostomyinternational.org), alongside the organization's mission to "promote quality of life for ostomates around the world." The Charter is best understood as an advocacy framework rather than a law: it does not create enforceable entitlements on its own, but it gives ostomates, caregivers, and patient associations a shared reference point when they speak to hospitals, insurers, or governments.

What the Charter Is For

The IOA is a federation of national ostomy associations, and its stated work includes member associations, continuing medical education for surgeons and specialists, and the Charter itself. The Charter fits into that structure as the patient-facing counterpart to the clinical side: if the IOA's education work aims to raise the standard of surgical and specialist care, the Charter describes the standard of treatment and support an ostomate should receive.

Because the IOA operates internationally, the Charter is written as a general statement that national associations can adopt, translate, and cite in their own settings. That is why you are more likely to see it used as a campaigning document by a local association than as a document you would file with a complaint.

What It Covers

The IOA site presents the Charter as a distinct section rather than a long explanatory article, so the practical way to read it is as a list of principles. In general terms, charters of this kind address:

• Access to care — surgery, stoma supplies, and follow-up being available regardless of where a person lives or their ability to pay.
• Information and consent — being told before surgery what a stoma involves, and what alternatives exist.
• Quality of professional care — treatment by trained surgeons, nurses, and stoma care specialists.
• Rehabilitation and support — access to stoma care nurses, peer support, and associations.
• Non-discrimination — fair treatment in employment, education, insurance, and social life.
• Dignity and privacy — respect for the person's body, needs, and choices.

The exact wording and the number of items are set by the IOA, so read the Charter page itself for the authoritative list rather than relying on a summary. What matters for practical use is that each principle names a duty-holder — usually a health provider, an employer, or a state — which is what makes the document usable in a conversation.

How Ostomates Actually Use It

The Charter is most useful in three situations:

1. Preparing for a conversation with a provider. If you are told a supply or a follow-up appointment is not available, quoting the relevant principle gives you a neutral, internationally recognized framing instead of a personal complaint.
2. Working through a national association. IOA member associations are the natural channel: they can tell you which parts of the Charter are already reflected in your country's rules and which are not.
3. Advocacy and awareness. Associations use the Charter when talking to policymakers, hospitals, or the media about gaps in stoma care.

A realistic example: someone preparing for surgery wants to know what the operation will mean for their work. The Charter's principles on information and non-discrimination give them a structure for the questions to ask — what the stoma involves, what support is available afterward, and what protections exist at work — even though the Charter itself will not answer those questions for their specific country.

Limits to Keep in Mind

• The Charter is a statement of principles, not legislation. It does not by itself oblige a hospital, insurer, or employer to do anything.
• What it means in practice depends heavily on national law and health system rules, which vary widely across IOA member countries.
• The IOA site does not present the Charter with pricing, membership, or access conditions, so treat it as a public reference document rather than a service you sign up for.

If you want to act on it, the most direct route is to find your national association through the IOA's member associations list, then ask them how the Charter is applied locally and what practical routes exist — a stoma care nurse, a patient representative, or a formal complaints process — if the standard it describes is not being met.