Improving Chronic Pain Care for all Canadians: A Patient Engagement Project to Identify Research Priorities

In addition to profound personal suffering, the cost of chronic pain across the lifespan is greater than that from cancer and heart disease combined. Canada is recognized as a world leader in pain research productivity and training, and per capita produces twice as many publications relevant to pain as the international leader, the United States. However research investment in pain in Canada is the lowest of any developed country, less than 1% of CIHR funding support and less than 0.25% of total research funding. In this patient engagement project, we will conduct national consultations with people who have lived experience of chronic pain and with those who care for them in order to identify research priorities and we will establish partnerships with researchers, health policy makers and industry partners to inform the work of emerging pan-Canadian strategy for patient-oriented research network and the national pain strategy. The overall goal is to improve chronic pain care for all Canadians.