The Portuguese Social Impact of Pain (SIP) platform, which brings together patient groups, industry and healthcare professionals, held a meeting on March 18th in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting aimed at promoting dialogue around tangible measures to alleviate the impact of pain in the work place.
Early retirement, absenteeism, presentism and job loss are frequent consequences of incapacity related to chronic pain, and more than 30% of workers in Portugal are affected. SIP stakeholders are thus calling for concrete actions to improve the employability of people suffering from chronic pain.
A range of measures were presented, such as: being more adaptable and flexible regarding working hour slots, ergonomic conditions and homeworking; raising awareness towards chronic pain but also towards stigma, discrimination and coercion at work; and finally, creating a support group within the work place for people suffering from chronic pain. As a conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Ana Pedro urged for more actions and cooperation.
The Portuguese SIP Platform will continue working actively to put forward the instances of people living with and managing pain on the national policy agenda, stay tuned for more updates on the work of SIP Portugal and other national SIP platforms that are currently being developed across Europe.
Find more information here (article in Portuguese).
