Pain Assessment and Management in Canada: We've Come a Long Way But There Are Challenges on the Road Ahead

摘要

Canada has a rich history in the interprofessional study and treatment of pain. Seminal work by the pre-eminent Canadian scientists Melzack and Wall (1965) advanced our understanding of pain as a complex, subjective, and multidimensional experience. Their contributions laid the foundation for exceptional Canadian researchers and clinicians to engage in world-leading research and education, over the last four decades, on acute and persistent pain mechanisms and the implications for assessment and management. A major challenge that has driven the research and education agenda is the ubiquity of pain-related misbeliefs — that is, beliefs that persist despite evidence — which preclude effective pain assessment and management (Carr, 2009; Furstenberg et al., 1998; Lebovitz et al., 1997; Lin, Alfandre, & Moore, 2007; McGillion,Watt-Watson, Kim, & Graham, 2004; Strong, Tooth, & Unruh, 1999; Watt-Watson, 1992; Ying, Schulman-Green, Czaplinski, Harris, & McCorkle, 2007).