The ACCORD Program: Working Together for the Management of Chronic Pain - A first in Quebec: $2.5M from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
MONTREAL, Nov. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - A group of researchers from Montreal,
Sherbrooke and McGill universities created a community alliance with
clinicians, healthcare professionals and the Quebec Chronic Pain Association
(AQDC) (www.chronicpainquebec.org) to improve the evaluation and treatment of
chronic pain in Quebec. A series of studies will be conducted in order to
evaluate the efficacy and the impact of interventions from a clinical, social
and economic point of view. The ACCORD Program (Concerted Application of Pain
Knowledge and Resources) was introduced today in the midst of the Quebec
Chronic Pain Week, through a live Web Conference, by the principal initiators
of the program: Manon Choinière, Ph.D., Researcher at the Research Center of
the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Serge Marchand, Ph.D.,
Researcher and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Sherbrooke University,
Dominique Dion, MD., MSc., Clinical Professor at the Department of Family
Medicine of the University of Montreal, and Jacques Laliberté, President of
the Quebec Chronic Pain Association.
Chronic Pain in Quebec
Chronic pain is a major public health issue. In the adult population, it
is estimated that chronic pain affects one person out of five(1). Furthermore,
it is a fact that the prevalence of chronic pain increases with age. According
to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, more than 1 million Quebecers
suffer from daily chronic pain. Many studies demonstrate that misdiagnosed,
non-treated or insufficiently relieved pain causes dramatic consequences on
physical, psychosocial and economical levels. In 2004, about 4,500 patients
were on a waiting list for a first evaluation of their condition and 3,000 had
been waiting for nine months or more. The study showed the lack of resources
for the treatment of chronic pain in Québec(2).
"The main obstacle to the optimal treatment of chronic pain is that it is
generally not recognized as a disease at the same level as other chronic
disorders, and consequently it does not receive the attention it requires.
Unfortunately, the longer pain remains insufficiently relieved, the higher the
chances are that it will become chronic and more resistant to treatment",
according to one of the principal initiators of the ACCORD Program, Dr. Manon
Choinière. "ACCORD is a first step toward an integrated research approach on
the management of pain, intended to improve the condition and quality of life
of patients and to create a new generation of researchers."
The ACCORD Program: Working together for the management of chronic pain
The creation of the ACCORD Program is aligned with the implantation of
the new Quebec Pain Research Network and the National Program for the
Evaluation, Treatment and Management of Chronic Pain recently announced by the
Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS) and which
proposes a continuum of integrated services meant to improve accessibility and
the quality of treatments offered to patients suffering from chronic pain.
These initiatives represent a unique momentum in Quebec for the development
and implementation of a structured knowledge exchange and translation (KET)
program(3)
The ACCORD Program received $2.5 million from the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research (CIHR)(4) as well as funds from the Quebec Pain Research
Network and the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network, which are financed by
the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec(5).
Three intervention phases
The Program, divided in three phases, will be implemented between 2008
and 2012 and will establish a mapping of chronic pain problems and of the
different treatment services offered across the province of Quebec. ACCORD
will better equip healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of
chronic pain and will educate the public, patients and their families about
pain and its management.
The First phase will consist in the creation of an Atlas on Chronic Pain
and Treatment Resources in Quebec, allowing for a better understanding of
regional differences pertaining to the prevalence of certain types of chronic
pain and the availability of services.
The Second phase will provide training programs for first line clinicians
on prevention, diagnosis and interdisciplinary management of chronic pain in
adults and older ambulatory patients as well as in Residential and Long-Term
Care Centres (RLCC). The efficacy and impact of the KET strategies will be
evaluated at the clinical, social and economic levels, in order to reduce the
gap between the best possible care and the actual care given.
Finally, the Third and last phase targets consumers directly, including
the implantation of interactional schools for patients suffering from chronic
pain (mainly from low-back pain and fibromyalgia) as well as the creation of a
Web platform facilitating the exchange between patients, their surroundings,
clinicians and researchers. A vast education program targeting the public,
patients and their families will also be deployed to rectify certain
perceptions, attitudes and prejudices that are still very prominent regarding
chronic pain and its treatment. The Quebec Chronic Pain Association (AQDC) and
the Fédération de l'âge d'or du Québec (FADOQ) will act as important partners
of the Program with their respective audiences.
"The ACCORD Program will finally shed light on this major public health
issue in Quebec and will result in better management of chronic pain by
empowering patients. Active self-management of pain is a privileged avenue for
the treatment of chronic pain and we believe that the measures that will be
put in place by the ACCORD Program will generate greater patient autonomy.
They will be better equipped to manage their disease and will be encouraged to
act as active partners", according to M. Jacques Laliberté, President of the
Quebec Chronic Pain Association.
About the ACCORD Program
The ACCORD Program is the result of a partnership between the Quebec
Chronic Pain Association (AQDC), the Fédération de l'âge d'or du Québec
(FADOQ), first line clinicians, pain experts, University Continuing
Professional Development Program (CPD) directors, professional orders,
stakeholders at various levels of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services
sociaux (MSSS) as well as a solid team of researchers with complementary
expertises. The Program and its three phases will be deployed between 2008 and
2012.
The Web Conference archives are available online at:
http://events.startcast.c...entID=48A07DFB-B243-4117-
97F9-2751380F319A until November 4, 2009
<<
(1) Statistics Canada. Health Indicators. Catalogue no. 82-221-XIE,
Volume 2002, No. 1. 2002. Ottawa, Canada, Statistics Canada
(2) Veillette Y et coll., Canadian Journal of Anesthesia. 2005; 52:600-6
(3) http://www.douleurchroniq...on/Communiques/RQRDfr.pdf
(4) http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/
(5) http://www.frsq.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.shtml
>>
For further information: or to set up an interview: Melissa Maloul-Cohen, Leidy Ojeda, (514) 845-2257, melissa.maloul-cohen@cohnwolfe.ca, leidy.ojeda@cohnwolfe.cahttp://www.newswire.ca/en...ovember2008/04/c4577.html
