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History

Founded in 2003, the Brazilian Cystic Fibrosis Study Group (Grupo Brasileiro de Estudos em Fibrose Cística, GBEFC) is a nonprofit, private association established under civil law.

The GBEFC was created by a group of professionals specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of cystic fibrosis who wished to study and expand the understanding of this disease in Brazil. Through the spread of knowledge, this group seeks better opportunities for diagnosis, treatment, and improvement of quality of life for Brazilians living with cystic fibrosis as well as for their caregivers and family members.

Our work aims to improve the comprehension of different aspects involving cystic fibrosis and its inclusion as a priority in the public health agenda in Brazil. Many improvements have been made since the group was founded, but there are still substantial inequalities in different regions of Brazil that need to be addressed.

The creation of GBEFC also aimed to establish national clinical practice guidelines and to allow the exchange of scientific information among Brazilian and international specialists. For this reason, the GBEFC has a partnership with and the support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the world's biggest cystic fibrosis association. Also, the GBEFC collaborates with the European Cystic Fibrosis Society, thus gaining ground in the agenda of European conferences on cystic fibrosis and taking part of international initiatives for harmonizing cystic fibrosis registries.

Consisting of health professionals specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of cystic fibrosis, our group operates through several care centers in many Brazilian states.
 

Our goals

  1. To expand the spread of information and knowledge regarding cystic fibrosis in Brazil to help health care professionals in the diagnosis of this disease, since early diagnosis is crucial to the quality of life of patients with cystic fibrosis;
  2. To encourage health professionals, hospitals, and public and private agencies to become more interested in cystic fibrosis;
  3. To produce more scientific knowledge through discussions in conferences, research projects, etc.
  4. To debate, create, and update protocols of clinical practice guidelines for cystic fibrosis in Brazil.