“The National Pain Strategy Report was just the beginning. Now there are many federal pain-related activities to help address chronic pain,” Dr. Helmick said. Momentum is growing to better communicate this very complex issue while federal resources are diverted to pain. He urged participants to follow upcoming developments in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Finally, the government is also trying to add to pain knowledge by including four developmental objectives related to pain in Healthy People 2020 (a once-a-decade initiative promulgating broad objectives for the nation’s health) and inserting two pain questions into the National Health Interview Survey for 2016 and 2017.
Larry Beresford is a freelance medical journalist in Oakland, Calif.
References
- Institute of Medicine (US). Relieving pain in America: A blueprint for transforming prevention, care, education and research. Washington (DC); National Academies Press (US); 2011.
- Nahin RL. Estimates of pain prevalence and severity in adults: United States, 2012. J Pain. 2015 Aug;16(8):769–780.
