Teamwork in chronic pain management and the way forward in low and middle-income countries

Abstract

Assessment and management of patients with chronic pain is a challenging task due to its complex multidimensional nature and biopsychosocial impact. It requires a collaborative effort by an interdisciplinary team. Evidence showed that in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), 33% patients among general adult population, and 56% of general elderly population, suffer from chronic painful conditions.  Women are more likely to report chronic pain than men. In this narrative review, we attempted to search published literature to know the status of assessment and management of patients with chronic pain in low resource countries and to know the most appropriate chronic pain management strategies used in developed countries. We used broad electronic database (January 2010- December 2020) through common search engines. Lack of trained pain physicians and staffs, lack of interest, empathy and lack of integrated multidisciplinary approach are some of the barriers to achieve teamwork in chronic pain management. Authors strongly recommend the need of further research in this area, improvement in training programs for physicians and nursing staff for proper pain assessment and management of patients with chronic pain in low resource countries. Key words: Chronic pain management; Teamwork; Low resource; Multidisciplinary team; Interdisciplinary approach; Low and middle-income countries Citation: Siddiqui AS, Usman B. Teamwork in chronic pain management and the way forward in low and middle-income countries. Anaesth pain intensive care 2021;25(2):229-235. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v25i2.1477 Received: 18 January 2021, Reviewed: 20 January, 10 February 2021, Accepted: 9 March 2021