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Goal: Affinity is
seeking projects that improve chronic pain management
and/or provide new or alternative treatment processes to
alleviate pain for those suffering; and improve their
functioning.
Overview: Chronic pain affects one in three
Americans, or roughly 50 million people. Chronic pain is
the number one cause of adult disability in the United
States. Pain is affected by a complex combination of
emotions, culture, experience, spirit and sensation. It
becomes chronic when it continues past the usual
recovery period for an injury or illness. Examples
include: arthritis, fibromyalgia, headache and pelvic
pain. Chronic pain negatively impacts quality of life,
diminishing sufferers’ satisfaction with their overall
lives, worsens how they perceive their own health, and
negatively affects relationships, work, daily activities
and productivity.
Traditional treatments for chronic pain include:
pain-relief medications, injections and surgery.
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alternative approaches include:
acupuncture, biofeedback, chiropractic, homeopathic or
herbal remedies, massage therapy, yoga or meditation,
and prayer. In a recent survey involving Stanford
University Medical Center, only one-half of respondents
with chronic pain who had consulted a practitioner said
they had received significant relief. Additionally,
chronic pain sufferers are more likely to have tried
prescription drugs, massage therapy and prayer, but much
less likely to say these therapies have worked very
well.
Socioeconomic disadvantage is the primary predictor of
disabling pain. Also, pain is more prevalent among
minorities. Compared with whites, African-Americans
reported greater pain severity, greater avoidance of and
fearfulness in thinking about pain, higher levels of
disability, and more frequent accompanying physical
symptoms. Access to pain care also varies based on
race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors. When surveyed,
Hispanics were less likely than other groups to consult
a primary care practitioner for pain. Consultations were
also less frequent among Spanish-speaking respondents,
males, and those younger or single, with limited
education, or unemployed.
Chronic pain is under-recognized as a health problem
worldwide, even in the United States, where it affects
some 15% of American children. Just recently, the
National Pain Care Policy Act (HR 1020) was introduced
in Congress. The bill would recognize pain research,
education and treatment as national public health
priorities, and establish a center for research on pain
and palliative care at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
Concerning pain treatment, clinicians must consider the
special needs of children and the aging, as well as a
patient’s cultural context.
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