The disciplines of pain and palliative care are generally not well developed in many countries in South and Southeast Asia. The IASP has tried to improve education in pain since 2002 through initiatives of its Developing Countries Working Group, and more recently through liaison persons and encouraging the estabishment of IASP chapters in countries without one.
Often, palliative care services do not exist in these countries and advanced cancer patients suffer without pain relief. The Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network started a program in 2012 to train trainers in palliative care, work with governments to establish palliative care services and make oral morphine available for pain management. This presentation provides insights into what worked, what did not and why.
Learning Objectives:
- Upon completion, participants will be able to appreciate some of the challenges facing low resource countries with no pain and palliative care services – educational, logistical, cultural and social.
- Upon completion, participants will perceive which educational methods work well and the importance of participant selection, motivation and their deployment in the health system.
- Upon completion, participants will understand why purely educational efforts will not produce services and get care to patients in need. Persistent efforts to change systems at local hospital level and government policy level are necessary, guided by local champions working in place, together with skillful use of “foreign experts”. Changes include job and service provision and availability of essential medications, especially oral morphine.
The Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
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