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info@ampainsoc.org847.375.4715
American Pain Society
4700 W Lake Ave
Glenview, IL 60025
Michael E. Clark, PhD, Department Editor
Reviewed by Allen Lebovits, PhD
This site was developed by Education Development Center, Inc., with the financial support of the Mayday Foundation. The site describes itself as an archived site that includes project work conducted between 1995 and 2001. It is most appropriate for healthcare professionals who are working or about to begin working in the pain field. It may be particularly helpful to pain program administrators interested in institutional issues and pain guidelines.
The Web site is divided into a public section and a fee-based member section. The “PainLinks presents” feature alerts the public and participating PainLink sites to institutional change activities implemented in one or more PainLink sites. Institutions are encouraged to share information and strategies that work to make pain relief a reality in their settings. This section includes announcements of past online events, and also has more useful information, including archived reports and newsletters on a variety of pain topics, such as pain and addiction. The focus, however, appears to be on institutional issues surrounding the development of a pain practice. The “Hot off the Press” section includes summaries of selected published articles that, although not so “hot off the press” by now, are still relevant.
A helpful and important feature includes the ability to view or order guidelines, position statements, and other official documents on issues germane to pain management. For example, visitors can download the American Society of Pain Management Nurses’ Position Statement on Use of Placebos, or they can order the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Clinical Practice Guidelines on Acute Pain, Cancer Pain, and Low Back Pain. Similarly, links to policy statements of various professional societies such as the American Pain Society and the American Nurses Association are provided.
A unique feature of this site is the Pain Quiz. After a visitor responds, graphs display how others have responded, and explanations of correct answers are provided. The two available quizzes are brief, but still provide an interesting educational experience.
The Resources and Conferences sections do not appear to be functional.
The site is relatively simple to use and is without many “bells and whistles.” Visually, it is direct and basic. One must be a member to access the member section.
This site is a useful place for APS members and nonmembers to gain information. Particularly helpful are the guidelines and selected summary articles on important clinical issues. Certain sections are no longer functional. It is unfortunate this site is no longer updated, as it will eventually grow obsolete.
Reviewer content represents the opinion of the reviewer, not APS.
Please direct your suggestions for future Web Site Reviews to Michael E. Clark, PhD, Department Editor, at michaeleclark@highstream.net.
