We Are Family - The importance of parents, peers and partners in pain relief

As of 2011 15% of Nova Scotians aged 12 and over report they usually have pain or discomfort that is moderate to severe and/or prevents usual daily activities. Chronic pain affects every aspect of a person's life including their ability to work, their emotional, mental and physical health as well as their relationships with family, friends and society. Pain affects everyone across the lifespan. This can start in children where even the healthiest of newborns undergo almost a dozen needle injections in their first year of life with almost another dozen before they reach adulthood. Additionally 20% of children experience recurring or persistent pain, and extends into older adults who experience prevalence of pain as high as 80% among individuals in long term care facilities and 65% for those living in the community. However, there is poor management of pain in our society due to under-recognition of the problem, lack of education regarding pain assessment and treatment in graduating health care professionals and inadequate funding for research regarding pain. Moreover, awareness of the important contribution of family and friends in pain relief has been underscored and the incorporation of social support networks has been underutilized in the management of acute and chronic pain across the life span. Thus, this is an important topic for individuals and families, local communities and the province as greater understanding of family participation in pain relief is needed. The Cafe event will consist of brief presentations by health researchers in their respective areas of expertise related to pain (i.e., newborns, youth, and couples) complemented with on-going discussions with the audience. This event will be a great opportunity for the general population to increase their knowledge about current evidence related to parent, peer and partner involvement in pain relief and ask questions in a relaxed and informal environment. With this event, we hope to increase awa