Pain in Low Resource Environments

Abstract

Adequate pain management in low resource settings is rarely available due to a number of disparate barriers. With the increase in non-communicable diseases worldwide, suitable resources for the delivery of palliative care as well as essential surgery and anesthesia are lacking. In recent years, international organizations have highlighted more specific barriers and opportunities to address pain in these settings. Medical, nursing, and allied health training in pain management is generally missing from standard curricula, and this fosters the under treatment of pain. Despite a legal framework meant to ensure availability of opioids for medical purposes, they are non-existent or practically unavailable in many low resource settings due to high cost, over regulation, or underutilization. Pain treatment in low resource settings is discussed in the context of the availability of resources and education within a complex regulatory framework.