First EFIC® Symposium Societal Impact of Pain - SIP

Wilfried Ilias
Prof. Dr. Wilfried Ilias
Dept. of Anaesthesiology
Intensive Care med. & Pain Therapy
Academic Teaching Hospital St. John of God;
A-1020 Vienna, Johannes v. Gott-Platz 1
Social Impact of Chronic Pain in Austria,
Facts and Solution Strategies
One of the measures of the social impact of
pain may be the number of individuals who have
to go into early retirement because they are
handicapped by chronic pain. As to official data
of 2007 one third of these individuals are suffering
from chronic pain, another third from
depressive disorders as the underlying disease
(1). It is well known that both problems appear
very often in combination. Other measures of
course are official statistics on pain related
disorders and the use of analgesics as well,
both statistics show a steady increase (2).
A recent patient evaluation in 565 chronic pain
patients showed that most of them had seen
more than two doctors within the last 3
months before the evaluation in order to receive
an adequate diagnosis and treatment (3).
The most common reasons for chronic pain
were degenerative diseases of the skeletal apparatus
81% males and 79% in females. Information
by doctors (94%) was judged the most
important source concerning the individual pain
problems followed by other sources such as
newspapers (31%), friends (16%) and relatives
(15%). In reaction to the increasing social impact
of chronic pain specific postgraduate
teaching and training programs have been installed
in order to improve the general situation.
In Oct. 2009 an official postgraduate training
and diploma curriculum on pain initiated by
the Austrian Pain Society was accepted and
discharged by the Austrian Medical Chamber.
Also in 2009 the Austrian Federal Institute on
Health installed a taskforce on the treatment
of chronic pain with the purpose of developing
interdisciplinary staffed institutions for the diagnosis
and treatment of patients suffering
from chronic pain. Concomitantly there are
also efforts to establish rehabilitation clinics
for out-patient and in-patient care of individuals
who need medical assisted physical training
and mobilization programs. It has to be mentioned
though that establishing new structures
is very difficult in these times, when budgets
are already limited because of the universal
commercial implusion.
We are optimistic however that the social and
economic impact of chronic pain is taken very
seriously not at least because of the current
financial crisis. It is meanwhile generally accepted
that as also in other degenerative disorders
prophylactic steps such as physical
training, diets, avoidance of smoking and improvement
of working conditions will help to
avoid a further increase of individuals who are
handicapped because of chronic pain disorders.
References:
Ettinger, K. 2009. Immer junger in die Invaliditätspension.
In Die Presse. Wien: Die Presse
Verlags GmbH.
Statistic Austria, . Chronische Krankheiten und
Gesundheitsprobleme 2006/07.
Stein, Viktoria, Dorner, T., Ilias, W., Rieder Anita:
Schmerzpatienten und ihre Erwartungen an di
ärztliche Versorgung. admitted for Publication
in „Der Schmerz“
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