International Association for the Study of Pain
Encyclopedia
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) is an international professional organization promoting research, education and policies for the knowledge and management of pain
. The IASP was founded in 1973, following the Seattle-Issaquah conference, under the leadership of John Bonica. Its secretariat is based in Seattle, Washington
. It publishes the scientific journal Pain. IASP brings together scientists, clinicians, healthcare providers and policymakers to stimulate and support the study of pain and to translate that knowledge into improved pain relief worldwide. IASP currently has more than 7,000 members from 108 countries and in 70 chapters.
The often quoted IASP definition of pain
as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage" is derived from a 1964 definition by Harold Merskey, and it was first published in 1979 by IASP in Pain journal, number 6, page 250.
— is an important problem because that decreases many people’s quality of life. That's why IASP encourages the Global Year Against Pain, a yearlong initiative to raise international attention of pain. Every year, IASP focuses on a other aspect of pain. The focus for the 2010-2011 campaign, which launched on October 18, 2010, is Acute Pain. In 2004, supported by various IASP chapters and federations holding their own local events and activities worldwide, IASP initiated its first Global Year Against Pain with the motto “The Relief of Pain Should be a Human Right
.”
The themes:
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
. The IASP was founded in 1973, following the Seattle-Issaquah conference, under the leadership of John Bonica. Its secretariat is based in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. It publishes the scientific journal Pain. IASP brings together scientists, clinicians, healthcare providers and policymakers to stimulate and support the study of pain and to translate that knowledge into improved pain relief worldwide. IASP currently has more than 7,000 members from 108 countries and in 70 chapters.
The often quoted IASP definition of pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage" is derived from a 1964 definition by Harold Merskey, and it was first published in 1979 by IASP in Pain journal, number 6, page 250.
Global Year Against Pain
Pain — specifically chronic painChronic pain
Chronic pain has several different meanings in medicine. Traditionally, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has relied upon an arbitrary interval of time from onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since the initiation of pain, though some theorists and...
— is an important problem because that decreases many people’s quality of life. That's why IASP encourages the Global Year Against Pain, a yearlong initiative to raise international attention of pain. Every year, IASP focuses on a other aspect of pain. The focus for the 2010-2011 campaign, which launched on October 18, 2010, is Acute Pain. In 2004, supported by various IASP chapters and federations holding their own local events and activities worldwide, IASP initiated its first Global Year Against Pain with the motto “The Relief of Pain Should be a Human Right
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
.”
The themes:
- 2004-2005 The Relief of Pain Should be a Human Right
- 2005-2006 The Global Year Against Pain in Children
- 2006-2007 The Global Year Against Pain in Older Persons
- 2007-2008 The Global Year Against Pain in Women
- 2008-2009 The Global Year Against Cancer PainCancer painPain is a symptom frequently associated with cancer. Cancer can cause pain by irritating or damaging nerves, by stimulating nociceptors , or by releasing chemicals that make nociceptors respond to normally non-painful stimuli. Cancer pain may be caused by the tumor itself or by medical...
- 2009-2010 The Global Year Against Musculoskeletal Pain
- 2010-2011 The Global Year Against Acute Pain
- 2011-2012 The Global Year Against HeadacheHeadacheA headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...