FAQ

This consultation is open to all Canadians, and we invite you to join the discussion and to provide your input on pain in Canada. 

We encourage you to take part in this consultation using the online consultation platform, where you may save your responses and continue the questionnaire at a later time.

Additionally, a downloadable version of the consultation is available in the (section of the platform). Completed questionnaires can be submitted by email or mail to the Canadian Pain Task Force Secretariat.

Paper copies of the questionnaire are also available upon request.

Contact information:

Canadian Pain Task Force Secretariat

Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch

Health Canada

Postal Locator: 0301A

Ottawa, ON

Canada

A downloadable version of the consultation is available in the (section of the platform). Completed questionnaires can be submitted by email or mail to the Canadian Pain Task Force Secretariat.

Contact information:

Canadian Pain Task Force Secretariat

Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch

Health Canada

Postal Locator: 0301A

Ottawa, ON

Canada

The nature of pain is multi-dimensional, and pain care must address the different facets of the experience of pain.

Pain care can involve physical, psychological and pharmacological therapies. These can include physical activity, psychological therapy, medications, medical devices, procedures and physical therapies, as well as self-management of pain.

With funding from the federal and provincial/territorial governments, public health care services are provided by provinces and territories. Although some elements of pain care are covered by public health plans, many therapies in the treatment of pain are not publically funded. 

Access to timely and appropriate multi-modal pain care including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management:

Effective treatment of pain varies based on the individual, their condition, and other factors. More evidence is needed to clarify the combination of therapies and strategies that will provide optimal benefits for different people and types of pain. However, in general, evidence indicates pain management strategies are most effective when based on a biopsychosocial and multidisciplinary, patient-centred approach that incorporates pharmacological, psychological, physical, and self-management dimensions.

Canadians currently have limited and variable access to pain services and wait too long for specialty services. Evidence points to the need for increased availability of wellness-oriented, community-based care for people with mild functional impairment due to pain, and specialized, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary care for those experiencing moderate to severe pain and functional impairment. Some of the options and practices to consider include:

• Multidisciplinary approaches – working with multiple care professionals or highly integrated teams
• Transitional pain services – identifying patients at-risk of transitioning from acute to chronic pain and providing multi-modal services
• Hub and spoke models – connecting primary care and community-based services with specialized services
• Stepped care models – defining pathways to care that provide increasingly intensive or specialized care based on individual needs 
• Self-management and peer support – educating about one’s condition, connecting to others, and building capacity to take action
• Innovative models and technologies – using technologies such as telemedicine, video-conferencing and online platforms, mobile apps, medical devices, and others to improve access and quality of care

Awareness, education, and specialized training:

Pain is not well understood by health care providers or Canadians at large. Pain education in Canada is inadequate across disciplines, with significant knowledge gaps in both pre- and post-licensure contexts. There is also a need for better coordination of education and training across jurisdictions and health disciplines, and to better ground education in anti-oppression approaches that are trauma-informed and sensitive to different social and cultural needs. Some options and practices to consider include:

• Undergraduate and graduate training
• Continuing professional development
• Public awareness building campaigns
• Intensive in-person workshops and interactive sessions
• Online training modules and e-resources
• Specialty certification
• Mentoring programs
• Online and videoconferencing platforms and communities of practice

Pain research and related infrastructure:

There have been several significant investments in pain research and knowledge mobilization in Canada. However, there is still limited research on how to monitor the quality and effectiveness of our health care system for treating chronic pain. There are also many gaps in our knowledge of chronic pain prevention and etiology, patient-centered treatment, access and coordination of care pathways, and the impacts of pain. Research and advocacy-based funders, organizations, and networks, some collaborating with people living with chronic pain, have worked to define directions for a future research agenda. Some additional options and practices to consider include:

• Additional work to define research priorities
• How best to support individual projects and novel approaches to research
• Networks and infrastructure (e.g., mechanisms for coordination of multi-site trials, common measurement and data collection standards)
• How best to support knowledge translation

Privacy Notice

Informed Consent: 

By registering, participants are consenting to have any comments and the personal experiences provided posted on the Letstalkhealth site.  All comments submitted will be reviewed prior to posting to ensure that any content that identifies another individual or involves the use of inappropriate language/behavior will be removed.

PRIVACY NOTICE:

The personal information you provide will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act and collected under the authority of section 4 of the Department of Health Act.  It will include such items as name and email address, personal views and opinions as well as any other additional personal information you disclose while sharing your personal experience.  Health Canada is collecting this information on behalf of the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF) and it will be sent to a third party contractor for analyses. The information will be summarized in a CPTF report that will be published online in June 2020 and used to inform the CPTF’s advice to Health Canada.  The information may also be used by CPTF in the following ways:  in a report, posted on the CPTF and Letstalkhealth website, in various presentations and/or communications pieces and published works. 

We ask that you not provide any information that could identify any other individual such as name of physician or relative.  Your name and contact information will be used to contact you in the event that the CPTF has made the decision to not publically post your comments, i.e. due to the identification of a third party and/or offensive language/behavior.  In addition, if the CPTF chooses to feature your personal experience with pain in any of the above mentioned formats, the CPTF may contact you to request a photograph to publish along with your comments.

For more information: Refer to the Standard Personal Information Bank: Outreach Activities, PPU 938:  infosource.gc.ca.  You have the right to request access to and correction of your personal information. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you think your personal information has been handled improperly. For more information, please contact cptfsecretariatsecretariatgtcsld@canada.ca.

Note:  This Privacy Notice applies to the CPTF consultation only, participants are encouraged to review the host’s Privacy Policy.

Privacy Notice:

The personal information you provide will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act and collected under the authority of section 4 of the Department of Health Act.  It will include such items as age range, gender, demographical and biographical information, indigenous affiliation, ethnicity, household income and personal views and opinions.  Health Canada is collecting this information on behalf of the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF) and it will be sent to a third party contractor for analyses. The information will be summarized in a CPTF report that will be published online in June 2020 and used to inform the CPTF’s advice to Health Canada.  The information may also be used by CPTF or your respective Provinces and Territories (P/T) in the following ways:  in a report, posted on the CPTF and P/T websites, in various presentations and/or communications pieces and published works.  We will not ask you to provide us with any information that could directly identify you such as your name or address and we ask that you not provide any information that could identify anyone else such as name of physician or relative.  However, it’s possible the responses you provide could be used alone, or in combination with other available information, to identify you.  The protection of your personal information is very important to us and we will make every effort to safeguard it and reduce the risk that you are identified.

For more information:Refer to the Standard Personal Information Bank: Outreach Activities, PSU 938 infosource.gc.ca.  You have the right to request access to and correction of your personal information. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you think your personal information has been handled improperly. For more information, please contact cptfsecretariatsecretariatgtcsld@canada.ca.

Note:  This Privacy Notice applies to the CPTF consultation only, participants are encouraged to review the host’s Privacy Policy.

INFORMED CONSENT:By choosing to proceed with this questionnaire you are providing consent for Health Canada to collect and use the personal information disclosed by you while responding to the questions.