Press Release
Revised Comox Valley Pain Symposium
Title: Where Does It Hurt? Pain Relief for Older Adults
This year, 2007, is the Global Year Against Pain In Older Persons. Why focus on pain in older adults? The number of elderly people is increasing dramatically and in recent years we have come to understand the prevalence of pain in the older adult population. For many reasons, there is a much higher incidence of pain in older adults and managing that pain presents particular challenges.
If you or an elderly loved one lives with pain, you don’t have to! If you want to live
more fully and learn how to manage the pain better, you are invited to attend an open forum sponsored by the Vancouver Island Health Authority, pacific therapy and consulting and Pfizer Canada. What can you do about the pain? What the current treatments. What community resources do we have in the Comox Valley? What about complementary types of care?
The speaker for this event is a dynamic and knowledgeable expert in the field of pain management. Dr. Alan Berkman is originally from South Africa and developed an interest in chronic and palliative pain management from his years of work in the community. Dr. Berkman is a Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC and Co-Director of the Interventional Pain Clinic, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. He is a member of the Task Force for the Regional Island Pain Program and BC Pain Initiative.
Dr. Berkman is actively involved in educational opportunities to medical students,
residents, physicians, health care professionals and the community on the management of chronic pain. He is knowledgeable, compassionate and can even tell a good joke or two.
Come join us on October 25th from 1:30 to 3:30 at the Florence Filberg Centre and learn how to live well despite chronic pain. This event is free but you must register.
Call the Comox Valley Nursing Centre 898-2200 ext 2110 (volunteer desk) to register for this exciting event.
Hi Everyone: Additional media
materials were issued this morning, announcing the release of key highlights
from the SES Research comprehensive Canadian population survey
Follow this link to get the News
release that was issued this morning, with headline "1 in 3 Canadians Now Living
with Chronic Pain". This release emphasizes the impact on patients that live
with moderate to severe chronic pain, in work live, emotional, and mental health
terms.
<http://nationalpainawareness.webexone.com/r.asp?a=5&id=135611>
Follow this link to get the SES Media
highlights summary document, which provides the topline results of the full
report:
<http://nationalpainawareness.webexone.com/r.asp?a=5&id=135612>
As discussed, please feel free to personally circulate/share with your local media contacts, and any other appropriate audiences. They were also issued via Canada Newswire at 6 am, EST.
CANADIAN PAIN SURVEY
Executive Summary
SES Research’s study on chronic pain in Canada revealed that one in three Canadians (33%) had severe or moderate chronic pain. Forty percent of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain said that their pain makes them feel helpless, while thirty percent believe their family does not understand how pain affects them. Research also showed that pain has had a significant impact upon the Canadian workforce. To follow are the key findings.
General Population Survey
! Two in five Canadians experienced pain on the day of the study – Asked when the last time they experienced pain was, two in five Canadians (39%) said they had experienced pain on the day of the study interview. Fourteen percent of Canadians said that they had experienced pain in the past week but not on the day of the study, while seven percent said that it had been more than a week, but less than a month since they experienced pain.
! Nearly half of Canadians experienced pain at least several times a week –
Sixteen percent of Canadians said that they experienced pain at all times.
Twenty percent of Canadians said that they experienced pain daily, while 12%
said that they experienced pain several times a week.
! One third of Canadians have moderate or severe chronic pain – Canadians were
asked to indicate the intensity of their pain on a scale from 0 to 10, where “0”
meant “no pain at all” and “10” meant the worst pain imaginable. Thirty-three
percent of Canadians indicated that their pain was between 5 and 10. Canadians
with Severe or Moderate Chronic Pain – In-depth Survey
! Two in five Canadians with moderate
or severe chronic pain feel helpless – Canadians with moderate or severe chronic
pain were asked to indicate on a scale from 0 to 10 whether they agreed with the
statement “being in pain makes me feel helpless”. Forty percent of Canadians
with moderate or severe chronic pain gave scores
between 7 and 10.
! Three in ten Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain believe their
family does not understand how pain affects them – Canadians with moderate or
severe chronic pain were asked to indicate on a scale from 0 to 10 whether they
agreed with the statement “My family does not understand how my pain affects my
life”. Thirty percent of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain gave
scores between 7 and 10.
! Impact of moderate or severe chronic pain on the Canadians workplace –
Thirty-three percent of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain said they
had lost a job as a result of their pain. Nearly half of Canadians with moderate
or severe chronic pain (47%) said they had reduced their job responsibilities as
a result of their pain. Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain were also
asked to indicate on a scale from 0 to 10 whether they agreed with the statement
“I fear my pain will cause me to lose my job”. Twenty-five percent of Canadians
with moderate or severe chronic pain gave scores between 7 and 10.
! Impact pain on the income of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain -
Half of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain (49%) said that their
pain had resulted in a reduction of income. When a Canadian with moderate or
severe pain lost income, they lost, on average, $12,558 dollars in income over a
one year period because of their pain.
! Four in ten Canadians with moderate
or severe chronic pain experienced anxiety and/or depression – Thirty-eight
percent of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain said they had
experienced anxiety and/or depression as a result of their pain.
! More than half of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain took
prescription pain medicine – Fiftyfive percent of Canadians with moderate or
severe chronic pain said they were currently taking prescription pain medicine,
while forty-five percent of Canadians with moderate or severe chronic pain said
they were not currently taking prescription pain medicine. If you have any
questions please contact Nik Nanos by telephone at (613) 234-4666 ext. 237 or by
email atnnanos@sesresearch.com.
Methodology – Note to Reader
The purpose of public opinion
research is to identify perceptions within reliable and acceptable statistical
margins of accuracy. To that end, SES was retained to conduct a public opinion
survey of Canadians on behalf of the Canadian Pain Society. Between October 10 –
22, 2007, SES conducted a total of 2,000 random telephone interviews across
Canada. Interviews were conducted in both official languages. Among the sample
of 2,000 Canadians interviewed, individuals with moderate or severe chronic pain
were qualified for a further in-depth interview. Three hundred interviews were
conducted for the in-depth study. At the direction of the client, a series of
over samples were created in order to increase the accuracy of the regional
results. To follow are the regional over samples and their corresponding margins
of accuracy. The final national percentages for the short
screening survey were weighted to reflect their true proportion to actual
Canadian population.
Region Actual Population (census 2006)
Percentage of National
Population Proportion of
Final Weighted Sample
Oversample
Interviews
Margin of
Accuracy
Atlantic Canada 2,284,779 7.3% 7.4% 300 ±5.8%
Quebec 7,546,131 23.9% 24.3% 400 ±5.0%
Ontario 12,160,282 38.6% 38.3% 400 ±5.0%
MB/SK 2,116,558 6.7% 6.5% 300 ±5.8%
Alberta 3,290,350 10.4% 10.2% 300 ±5.8%
British Columbia 4,113,487 13.1% 13.2% 300 ±5.8%
Canada 31,511,587 100.0% 99.9% 2,000* ±3.0%*
* The true national weight factoring oversample, adjusted for the Canadian
population results in a base sample of 1,047 cases. This yields a margin of
accuracy of ±3.0%, 19 times out of 20. Respondents who had moderate or severe
chronic pain, were qualified for the in-depth interview if they met the
following criteria:
! they rated the pain intensity when they last experienced pain as at least “5”
on a numeric rating scale where “0” equaled no pain at all and “10” equaled “the
worst pain imaginable”; and ! respondents who rated the pain intensity when they
last experienced pain as “4” were asked if the reason for their rating was
because of effective treatment, those who responded “yes” and met all other
criteria were also screened for the indepth
interview. Respondents who met all the screening requirements in the general
populace questionnaire were asked to participate in the Moderate or Severe
Chronic Pain Survey.
Ten percent of the fieldwork was monitored as part of the firm’s quality and
data integrity procedures. Validation and testing of key demographic cohorts
indicate that the sample profiles were representative of the populations within
acceptable margins of statistical accuracy. The research was registered with the
Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, Canada's governing body for
market
and public opinion research.
NEWS RELEASE For immediate
release
1 IN 3 CANADIANS NOW LIVING WITH CHRONIC PAIN
New comprehensive population survey of Canadians confirms that pain is a
mounting problem, with impacts extending into Canadians’ work life,
relationships and emotional health.
Toronto, November 7, 2007 – Highlights of a new comprehensive population survey
has revealed that one in three (33%) Canadians now live with moderate to severe
pain as an ongoing part of their lives. One in six (16%) live with constant
pain, and one in five (20%) experience pain daily.
“This research allows us to grasp the immense scope of the problem that pain is
causing within Canadian society,” said Dr. Barry Sessle, President of the
Canadian Pain Society. “It is reaching never-before-seen prevalencei in the
general
population, and is clearly affecting almost every part of the lives of Canadians
– from work and productivity, to emotional health and self-esteem, to family
relationships.”
For the study, SES Research randomly surveyed 2,000 Canadians across the
country, from which an additional 300 in-depth interviews were conducted with
individuals who were identified with moderate to severe chronic pain. The
in-depth interviews focused on understanding the impact that living with pain
played on their lives.
“Pain is clearly having an enormous impact upon the lives of Canadians,” said
Nikita Nanos, President of SES research, who conducted the study on behalf of
the Canadian Pain Society. “A full third of individuals with moderate to severe
pain said
that they had lost their job as a result of it, and half said that they had seen
a reduction of income. This income loss was pegged at an average of $12,558 over
a one year period, due to their pain,” Nanos said. Said Nanos: “Our study also
probed into the emotional and mental health impact that living with chronic pain
can have on sufferers. We saw high instances (38%) of
depression and anxiety, as well as significant feelings of helplessness. Pain
may also be affecting family relationships -- 30% of individuals with moderate
to severe chronic pain felt that their families didn’t understand how pain was
affecting their
lives.”
701 Rossland Road East
Suite 373
Whitby, ON L1N 9K3
T: 905-668-9545
F: 905-668-3728
office@canadianpainsociety.ca
www.canadianpainsociety.ca
“As experts trying to help patients
with pain, we are very concerned that Canada’s
healthcare system is not equipped to deal with the scope of this problem,” said
Dr.
Sessle. “Indeed, a study by the Canadian Pain Society this past year has
documented that access to effective pain management is poor, with many chronic
pain patients in Canada having to wait years before they can be seen at a proper
pain treatment program. Compounding this, evidence was presented earlier this
week that Canadian veterinarians receive an average of over three times as much
designated pain training as doctors, nurses, dentists, and other healthcare
professionals. When you consider that many healthcare professionals chose their
careers out of a desire to alleviate suffering, it is ironic that – based on
this finding --
our pets may be getting better pain treatment than human patients.”
A summary of the report highlights is attached, or can be found at
www.painexplained.ca. Painexplained.ca
is a new campaign supported by the
Canadian Pain Society, Canadian Pain Coalition, the Canadian Pain Foundation
and other partner groups, companies and individuals. The campaign seeks to raise
awareness and promote better prevention and management of all types of pain in
Canada.
About the Survey
The Canadian Pain Survey was conducted by an independent market research
company under the auspices of the Canadian Pain Society (CPS) and in
association with an Advisory Board of leading experts from across Canada who
specialize in the research and management of chronic pain. It was supported by
an
educational grant from Purdue Pharma Canada.
Full results of the Canadian Pain Survey will be available early in 2008.
The Canadian Pain Society represents Canadian health professionals, scientists
and others dedicated to improving understanding, treatment and education about
pain issues and management practices in Canada.
-30-
For more information
Dr. Barry Sessle, President, Canadian Pain Society
905-668-9545 or
Barry.Sessle@dentistry.utoronto.ca
Nikita Nanos, President, SES Research
613-234-4666 ext. 237 or
nnanos@sesresearch.com
Ingrid Thompson, Campaign Coordinator
416-792-0431 or Ingrid@painexplained.ca
i 1999 study (Moulin et al) indicated 29% prevalence, 2004 study (Boulanger et
al) 25% prevalence
About National Pain Awareness Week 2007 Campaign