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Chronic Pain Resources

Meet Those Living With Chronic Pain

The under-treatment of pain - which affects 100 million Americans - has been a focus of the Center's work since its founding in 1984. This year's Annual Dinner theme, HEALING WHAT HURTS: THE POLITICS OF PAIN, focused on the urgent need to "transform the way pain is perceived, judged and treated.

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Pain Policy Briefs

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Online Resource Links

  • Pathways to Prevention Workshop: The Role of Opioids in the Treatment of Chronic Pain
    On September 29–30, 2014, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a Pathways to Prevention Workshop: The Role of Opioids in the Treatment of Chronic Pain. The workshop addressed the long-term effectiveness of opioids, the safety and harms of opioids in patients with chronic pain, the effective of different opioid management strategics, and the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies for opioid treatment. Myra Christopher, Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care, presented the consumer perspective at the workshop.

  • Blog Post: A Call for Moral Leadership
    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Relieving Pain in America, documented the more than 100 million Americans (almost 1 in 3 and surely someone whom you know and love) suffers from chronic pain, at an economic cost of $6 billion and an incalculable psychological cost.

  • Blog Post: Chronic Pain – The Invisible Public Health Crisis
    Richard Payne, MD, John B. Francis Chair at the Center, asks how do we bring the invisible suffering of so many to light and work to alleviate it. In this February 7, 2015, blog post, he calls for commitment to five big goals.

  • Blog Post: It is Time to Ditch Pain Scales
    Western medicine is in large part based on objective evidence. If you can’t see, touch, taste or weigh it, it simply does not exist. Unfortunately, pain is subjective, with no “litmus test.” Each individual’s pain experience may vary depending on one’s genes, culture and/or world view, including religious beliefs.

  • Blog Post: Going for the Brass Ring
    Patient-centered research can improve chronic pain care and address opioid abuse.

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Recommended Reading

The following books are available online or at the local libraries:

 
 
 
 
 

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Audio Interviews

Pain and Public Health
Daniel Goldberg, East Carolina University, discusses why we need to view pain as a disease rather than a disease system and why seeing it not just as a clinical but also a public health phenomenon would be beneficial.

A Voice of Pain
Seth Haney, a therapist with 6 children, describes the accident that left him with chronic pain and his frustrations with the healthcare system in seeking relief.

A Nation in Pain: Healing Our Biggest Health Problem
Syndicated health columnist Judy Foreman’s book, A Nation in Pain, provides a researched account of today’s chronic pain crisis and the reasons for it, and guides readers through scientific discoveries and advances in traditional and alternative remedies. The Center and Saint Luke’s Health System hosted Ms. Foreman for a lecture in Kansas City on June 3, 2014. 

KCUR Up to Date Program
Steve Kraske gets to the bottom of why our society fails to fully treat nearly 100 million Americans who live with chronic pain.

NPR Weekend Saturday Interview
Scott Simon interviews Ms. Foreman about abuse of painkillers and the fear of abuse, which, she says, means that pain is going untreated.

Brief Interview
Ms. Foreman explains how she became interested in the issue and what she discovered in the process of writing the book.

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Video Library

Meet Those Living With Chronic Pain

The under-treatment of pain - which affects 100 million Americans - has been a focus of the Center's work since its founding in 1984. This year's Annual Dinner theme, HEALING WHAT HURTS: THE POLITICS OF PAIN, focused on the urgent need to "transform the way pain is perceived, judged and treated.

A Nation in Pain

Nationally syndicated health columnist and author Judy Foreman shares her experience with pain, how she came to write this A Nation in Pain based on solid scientific evidence, what individuals can do to alleviate this most common of human miseries, and what our country needs to do to transform the way pain is perceived, judged and treated.

Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy: Seeking a Balanced Pain Policy

This 2009 video explains the Center for Practical Bioethics Center’s work with physicians, patient advocates and law enforcement to develop policies that balance how we address the under treatment of pain and the abuse of prescription drugs.

Chronic Pain in Underserved Populations

Myra Christopher, Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care at the Center, and Melissa Robinson, executive director of the Black Health Care Coalition in Kansas City, MO, discuss how chronic pain affects the elderly and underserved and the opportunity in Kansas City to work with health ambassadors to address chronic pain and other health issues in the community.

Shifting to Bio-Psychosocial Model at a Safety Net Hospital

Myra Christopher, Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care at the Center, and Mark McPhee, MD, executive vice president of clinical coordination at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, MO, discuss some of the reasons for poor treatment of chronic pain and why he is supportive of efforts to shift from a bio-medical to bio-psychosocial model of treatment.

The State of Palliative Care: Introductions and Special Speakers

On January 29, 2014, at the request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for aging, Kathy Greenlee, JD, the Center for Practical Bioethics convened a program in Washington, DC, to discuss the state of palliative care across settings and to explore opportunities for improving collaboration. The goal of the meeting was to provide input to Secretary Greenlee as she  develops a policy agenda to improve quality of care across the life span.

The State of Palliative Care: Model Programs and Federal Opportunities

The State of Palliative Care: Chronic Pain Panel

The State of Palliative Care: Transitions in Care and Settings Panel

The State of Palliative Care: Shared Decision Making Panel

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