We know that prostatitis is a serious public health problem, but so are other illnesses. Does prostatitis register attention in the context of other serious diseases?

The American Urological Association Foundation, the principal research and education arm of the American Urological Association, has undertaken to identify priorities in the realm of urological diseases. The main reason for so doing are to help to reverse reductions seen in funding and progress seen in research into urological diseases. The process is expected to lead to the publication next month of a research agenda, which is to become a working blueprint for expressing research needs aimed at improving patient care.

One of the developers' concerns is the fact that for several years now the resources of the National Institutes of Health have been steady, when with inflation the functional resources have declined. The developers estimate that urology has been particularly damaged by this resources contraction because generally speaking this discipline has not received adequate support; this deficiency is accentuated by the fact that the demographic most affected by urological illness has been expanding due to aging.

The new national agenda for urological research will aim to expand the historic confines of research participants to include additional disciplines. Overall, the agenda will be developed along specific centers of attention, including one center specifically on Interstitial Cystitis, Bladder Pain, and Prostatitis.

We will bring updates on the project as these become available.