About Pain Awareness Month
September is declared Pain Awareness Month by The World Health Assembly (WHA) – a subsection of the World Health Organization (WHO). The month is dedicated to raising public awareness and understanding of pain.
The epidemic of pain
- The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 found pain, particularly low back pain, osteoarthritis, neck pain, and migraine, are the leading causes of disability and disease burden globally. In fact, the burden of pain conditions is higher than that due to depression, cancers, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
- In Europe alone, almost one in five individuals or 20% of the adult population report having moderate or severe chronic pain. This means there are 150 million people in Europe experiencing chronic pain.
- Chronic pain has been linked to numerous physical and mental conditions and contributes to high health care costs, early retirement and productivity lost.
Easy to understand pain explainers and Downloads
The European Pain Federation EFIC want to provide resources and promote research opportunities to increase public awareness in the area of pain and pain management. Feel free to access our explainers, visuals and infographics which are a great resource for clinicians who want to give their patients some basic introductory information on pain:
Pain Awareness Month – IASP Resources
Join the EFIC Academy
The EFIC Academy Education Platform provides open access to the highest quality online pain education material. It includes tailored material to the four EFIC curricula, developed by leading European educators specifically with an online learning environment in mind. To find out more and become a member, please visit https://europeanpainfederation.eu/efic-academy/
EFIC Advocacy Projects
The European Pain Federation EFIC campaigns to improve government policies that affect pain and to raise awareness of the importance of pain, including its management, treatment and prevention, amongst patients and the general public. Find out more about current projects here:
“Plain Talking”: EFIC Campaign on Health Literacy
“On the Move”: EFIC Campaign on Physical Activity
Attending #EFIC2023 in Budapest?
The 13th Congress of the European Pain Federation EFIC® will be held in Budapest, Hungary from 20-22 September 2023. The theme will ‘Personalised Pain Management: The Future is Now’. To find out more, please visit https://europeanpainfederation.eu/efic2023
EFIC Research Projects
In 2022, EFIC kicked off the work on our pain research strategy working with a multidisciplinary steering committee. The pain strategy will serve as a foundation stone for European pain research plans for years to come. The overall vision will be to optimise understanding and management of pain through promoting high-quality, collaborative basic, pre-clinical, translational, and clinical research.
EFIC has also launched the Pain Scientist Network, is our internal listing of pain scientists, organised by their fields of research expertise and activity. Pain scientists who complete the form will be included within the Pain Scientist Network, from which they can be connected to other researchers in their field. To find out more and submit your profile today, please visit https://europeanpainfederation.eu/take-part-in-the-efic-pain-scientist-network/
