Publications

APS Bulletin • Volume 12, Number 4, July/August 2002

President’s Message

Christine Miaskowski, PhD RN, Department Editor

Decade of Pain Report, July 2002

Michael A. Ashburn, MD MPH

President’s note: This issue’s report about the Decade of Pain Control and Research was written by Immediate Past President Michael A. Ashburn, MD MPH.

Christine Miaskowski, Phd, RN

In late 2000, Congress passed into law a provision, which the President signed, that declared the decade that began January 1, 2001, as the Decade of Pain Control and Research. The Decade presents the American Pain Society (APS) with a unique opportunity to advocate for improved funding of pain research and education. In addition, this is also an opportunity to advocate for improved care of people with pain.

APS has established a multi-year task force to spearhead activities. Task force members include Christine Miaskowski, Ronald Dubner, Jennifer Haythorthwaite, Gerald Gebhart, Nora Janjan, Martin Grabois, and Mitchell Max. APS also has contracted with Weber and Associates, a nationally-recognized public relations firm, to assist with coordination and management of Decade-related activities.

The task force has established an agenda for decade-related activities. The agenda has short-term and long-term goals for the Decade and is divided into four broad areas—research, professional awareness, public policy, and public awareness.

APS recognizes that the best way to achieve long-lasting improvement in pain research and clinical care is to coordinate activities as often as possible with other interested organizations. Toward that end, we have partnered on Decade projects with other organizations, including the American Pain Foundation (APF), American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), and the American Headache Society (AHS).

As a key part of this collaboration, APS will participate in the ongoing Pain Care Coalition (PCC). The PCC currently comprises APS, AAPM, and AHS. The PCC is already working on the development of model legislation related to pain care and research for consideration by Congress. In the near future, a draft of the proposed legislation will be available on the APS Web site.

The Decade presents an opportunity to advocate for improved funding of pain-related research. We hope to advocate for the development of a pain research agenda for the decade, perhaps through a series of consensus conferences on key pain research and clinical care issues. Through this process, we intend to promote the science of pain. We will focus on improving care.

Task Force Agendas for the Decade of Pain Research Agenda

Goal
  • Enhance clinical and basic research on pain and its management during the Decade.
Objectives
  • Foster basic research on mechanisms of pain.
  • Foster research on the epidemiology and impact of acute and persistent pain.
  • Foster clinical research on acute and persistent pain management.
  • Encourage the transfer of basic research findings to the clinical arena.
  • Increase NIH awareness of the need for more research on pain to enhance the quality of life for Americans.
  • Double the proportion of NIH research funding on pain throughout the Decade.
  • Expand training support to investigators interested in the study of pain and its management.

Professional Awareness Agenda

Goal
  • To raise professional awareness of appropriate management of patients with pain through educational programs that change behavior.
Objectives
  • Develop curriculum for evaluation and treatment of pain for medical and allied health students.
  • Develop and implement pain course for faculty at medical schools and allied health institutions.
  • Develop and implement annual pre- or post-pain courses for annual meetings of each recognized medical sub-specialty and allied health organization each year for 5 years.
  • Develop and make available a primer about pain.
  • Develop and implement a prestigious lecture series on pain.

Policy Agenda

Goals
  • Change federal policy to improve federal support for research related to pain and end-of-life care.
  • Change federal policy to improve pain and palliative care across all age groups.
Objectives
  • Establish pain medicine as a CMS-recognized physician specialty.
  • Establish a federally-recognized pain and palliative care research agenda.
  • Conduct and publish a federal study on the barriers to interdisciplinary rehabilitation pain care.
  • Change CMS payment regulations to support interdisciplinary rehabilitation pain care.
  • Advocate for a White House conference on pain and palliative care.

Public Awareness Agenda

Goal
  • To increase public awareness of pain, including the need to treat pain and the need to increase public resources dedicated to the understanding and treatment of pain.
Objectives
  • Develop a Web site for the Decade that provides up-to-date information on Decade and APS activities, with links to relevant Web sites.
  • Develop a national and state-specific “Pain Awareness Week.”
  • Develop a lecture series for community presentations on pain-related topics.
  • Find and use a celebrity spokesperson, in partnership with other professional societies.
  • Support APF’s efforts to develop and distribute pain-related educational materials for patients and their families.

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