Data from the start of this century has shown clear-ly how frequent chronic pain is in the general population. In Europe, one in five people suffers from some sort of chronic pain. Lower back pain is the most frequent, and it is the most frequent reason why people visit their general practitioner.
Patients with lower back pain are in general young and at the age of a full productivity (40 to 50 years old). Unfortunately, they lose 15 days of work per year just because of their pain.
The prevalence of chronic pain increases with age, and the elderly are affected by pain in around 50 per cent of the cases, frequently not in one single location.
Malta is in a strategic position to implement not just care for pain, but also pain rehabilitation,an essential part of care for suffering people
Considering its epidemiology, chronic pain is not just a health problem. It has become an important social problem, with a significant impact on the socioecono-mic aspect of everyday life. For instance, people with chronic pain use healthcare resources five times more than the normal population. They also are very frequently absent from their work (three to seven times more than normal, depending on the kind of job they have).
This simple data has generated increasing interest among policy makers, also at the European level. In fact, after other attempts in the same direction, in 2010 there was a first initiative in the European Parliament, with the symposium ‘The Societal Impact of Pain’, which initially involved just a few MEPs. After some annual editions, this symposium has become a tradition and has been followed up by other lobbying campaigns, involving scientific societies, professional associations and patients’ advocacy groups.
In 2010, Italy promulgated a law in defence of patients in pain (law 38/2010). It clearly states that any person in pain has the right to be cared for, with full reimbursement for the cure. The same law also establishes the necessity of three different national networks to care for pain patients and adult and child terminal patients.
Moreover, the necessity of specific education in pain management is clearly stated in the law, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
In 2014, the Italian Minister of Health called all her European colleagues in Milan for a meeting on the importance of pain affecting healthcare and socioeconomic systems. In particular, Law 38/2010 was presented, and the idea of the three different networks for pain management and care for terminal patients was discussed.
The meeting ended with the production of a document stating the necessity for giving better visibility to the topic of pain medicine for the benefit of pain patients. All the ministers present unanimously committed themselves to working in that direction, and the topic of pain patients was put on the agenda of the first semester of the Italian presidency of the European Union (in 2015).
Since that meeting, many other initiatives have been organised on the old continent, and especially a few of them have been organised in European institutions, both in the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Politicians from many countries have shown their interest and sensitivity on the topic. But now it is the time for action.
Malta’s presidency of the EU Council could indeed be the right moment. Malta has a strategic position, both because of its long and solid tradition relating to the treatment and the care of suffering people, and for its renewed interest in healthcare management in general.
Malta is in a strategic position to implement not just the care for pain, but also pain rehabilitation, which is an essential part of care for suffering people.
Scientific societies, professional associations and patients’ advocacy groups would be delighted to give their support to politicians for such a campaign of civilisation.
Giustino Varrassi is president of the European League Against Pain.