NASW Endorses National Report Advocating for Care of Chronic Pain

Jan 7, 2010

Recommendations Include Social Work Training and Mental Health Parity

In November 2009, a panel of experts released a report calling for increased interdisciplinary training on pain care and other systemic reforms to improve treatment of chronic pain throughout the United States. The panel was convened by the Mayday Fund, a family foundation dedicated to reducing human suffering caused by pain.

NASW joined 30 national organizations in endorsing the report, A Call to Revolutionize Chronic Pain Care in America: An Opportunity in Health Care Reform. The report describes chronic pain—that is, pain lasting more than six months—as “a tragically overlooked public health problem” that is frequently underaddressed, including in the current health care reform debate. Chronic pain, the report asserts, leading not only to decreased quality of life but also to unnecessary health care costs. Defining pain as a chronic illness, the report examines the physical, social, and psychological effects of untreated pain. Moreover, the report emphasizes that both adults and children experience chronic pain and highlights disparities in competent pain care related to race, ethnicity, gender, age, and class.

The report calls for multiple measures to improve pain care, including

  1. Universal access to primary medical providers who are competent in pain management;
  2. Increased access to specialists in pain medicine;
  3. Expanded funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for training social workers and other health and mental health professionals in pain assessment and management;
  4. Reimbursement reforms, including parity for mental health services, to promote interdisciplinary treatment of pain;
  5. Increased federal funding for research addressing pain management;
  6. Elimination of disparities in access to pain care; and
  7. Increased consumer education about pain management.

Click here to read the Mayday Fund report.

RELATED RESOURCES
Violence in Schools: Social Workers Need to be Part of the Change

Violence in Schools: Social Workers Need to be Part of the Change

By Sue Coyle At 13, eighth-grader Melissa* is no stranger to lockdown drills—drills where students and staff practice what they would do if an active shooter was on campus. She says the drills occur monthly, more frequently at the beginning of the school year, and are...

Celebrate Your 2025 Graduate with the Gift of an NASW Press Book

Celebrate Your 2025 Graduate with the Gift of an NASW Press Book

The NASW Code of Ethics is a set of standards that guide the professional conduct of social workers. The 2021 update includes language that addresses the importance of professional self-care. Moreover, revisions to the Cultural Competence standard provide more...

Categories