The Opening Of The Biennial Scientific Meeting of The Pain Association Of Singapore

11 Sep 2004

By Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts and Health

Venue: The Raffles City Convention Centre

Address By Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister Of State, Ministry Of Health And Ministry Of Information, Communications And The Arts, At The Opening Of The Biennial Scientific Meeting Of The Pain Association Of Singapore On 11 September 2004 At 2 Pm At The Raffles City Convention Centre

Dr Cynthia Goh

President

Pain Association of Singapore

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

I am delighted to be here this afternoon for the opening of the Biennial Scientific Meeting of the Pain Association of Singapore and Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Association of South East Asian Pain Societies to enhance collaboration and the development of the field of Pain Medicine in South East Asia. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the overseas speakers and participants at this Meeting.

The Pain Association of Singapore, our local Chapter of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), brings together health professionals to improve patient care, stimulate research and increase awareness of pain and its management. I am pleased that it is launching the initiative "Asia Against Pain" at this Biennial Scientific Meeting.

Pain -- Size of problem and financial burden

Pain is an important medical problem. Acute and chronic pain affect a large portion of the population. Each year, some 15-20% of the population in the USA experience acute pain and about 25-30% experience chronic pain. A pan European survey shows that 1 in 5 persons suffer from chronic pain. Similar results are reported in Australia and USA. At a meeting of World Society of Pain Clinicians in Tokyo in July 2004, it was reported that at least 13% of the Japanese population suffered from chronic pain. This translates to 16.5 million Japanese. Besides the distress and suffering caused by pain, there are huge financial costs that result from the loss of income and productivity, and medical expenses.

Under-treatment of pain

It is ironical that pain is the most common symptom for which people seek medical attention, but many of them are not managed effectively or appropriately. Despite medical advances, the availability of safe and effective treatment and recent advances in the understanding of pain management, pain is often under-diagnosed, untreated or under-treated. As a result, many people with pain suffer needlessly. Some of the reasons for under-treatment of pain are inadequate assessment of the patient's pain, the patient's fear of addiction to the medications, fear of side effects of the medications, misconceptions and lack of knowledge of the health professionals, patients and their families.

Health professionals, patients and their families should know that pain can be controlled in most patients. To successfully control acute or chronic pain, there must be on-going comprehensive pain assessments and a treatment plan that suits the needs of the individual patient.

Pain in the elderly

I wish to highlight a vulnerable group in the population who tend to under-report pain and who are in greater risk of under-treatment of pain -- the elderly. They experience pain more often than younger people but it is not uncommon for elderly people to consider pain as part of ageing and not report it. Some elderly people with chronic pain may not verbalise their pain but may present with depression, sleep disorders, restlessness or agitation. The elderly often suffer from multiple chronic painful illnesses and take multiple medications. Their ailments may pose difficulties in pain assessment and they may suffer from adverse effects of some of the medications for pain relief. Like people in other age groups, the elderly require aggressive pain assessment and management.

The Association of South East Asian Pain Societies will enhance the links and networking of health professionals and researchers in the region who will share their knowledge, learn from the experiences of more developed countries, work together to increase awareness of pain management, and educate the public and health care providers, to improve the lives of the many people in the region who suffer from pain each day.

I wish you a successful and enriching meeting.