National pain week(excerpt from …chronicpainaustralia.org.au)

Australia’s THIRD National Pain Week. People in pain a national health priority!

This year we are also building on the petition started last year. Pharmacies and Libraries will have these petitions available for people to sign and send back to us. This year we should achieve that magic number – 10,000 – to ensure a debate in Federal Parliament about the impact of pain on the lives of people who live with it.

If you haven’t already, sign the online petition to the Senate, and see what the programs are going to be each day. Upload your photo to the 10,000 Faces of Pain campaign. If you are going to run an event let us know and we will publicise it on the website.

Above all, remember that there is always hope and support. If you need online support go to the Chronic Pain Australia forum www.chronicpainaustralia.org.au.

Aims of National Pain Week 2013

  1. To contribute to the de-stigmatisation of the experience of chronic pain;
  2. To work towards creating healing relationships between the person in pain and their pain clinician/s; and;
  3. To reduce the isolation and suffering of people in pain.

Consistent with these aims, the objectives articulated in the 2013 campaign are:

1.    To contribute to the de-stigmatisation of the experience of chronic pain;
a)    To provide scientific knowledge about pain and current thinking in language that is understood by people in pain and others in the community (including health providers) through providing a “Cyberfest of Hope” program throughout the week.
2.    To work towards creating healing relationships:
a)    Emphasising through all messages in the program the importance of the social context of chornic pain and how health service providers are part of that context;
b)    Improving the quality of information provided to health service providers especially providing research about the lived experiences of pain; and
c)  Creating a relationship with primary care practitioners who need support and resources.
3.    Reduce the isolation and suffering of people in pain:
a)    Promote hopeful messages about the management of chronic pain through the Cyberfest;
b)    Program in messages about the right of all people in pain to have access to treatments / strategies that work for them; and
c)    Promote strategies that create connection / sense of community (eg online forums, Cyberfest).