History of IASP^®

Read "First Steps: The Early Years of IASP 1973-1984," a memoir of IASP's first decade by former Executive Officer Louisa Jones.  Read "Celebrating 25 Years," a booklet published in 1998 to commemorate IASP's first quarter-century. It includes pieces written by past presidents Jean-Marie Besson, John Loeser, and Troels S. Jensen, noted members Patrick Wall, Anthony Dickenson, Henry McQuay, and Allan Basbaum, as well as former Executive Officer Louisa Jones.

The International Association for the Study of Pain began in May 1973 with an interdisciplinary meeting that brought together scientists and clinicians from 13 countries. University of Washington anesthesiology professor John J. Bonica invited 350 participants to the meeting, held in Issaquah, Washington, USA. The participants decided to found a multidisciplinary, professional organization dedicated to pain research and management and became the first members. They agreed to launch a journal, called PAIN, to be edited by Patrick D. Wall, initially a quarterly journal; the first issue appeared in January 1975. Bonica identified IASP’s mission: to provide an egalitarian, interdisciplinary, and international forum to improve knowledge about pain, improve the education of health care providers, and improve the care of patients. He wrote the bylaws of IASP, which was incorporated on May 9, 1974. IASP is a non-profit organization governed by its Council.

The first of IASP’s World Congresses on Pain convened in Florence in September 1975. Denise Albe-Fessard became IASP’s first president, and Bonica became president-elect. Louisa E. Jones assumed the position of executive secretary.

Bonica presented nine key objectives for the organization at the 2nd World Congress in Montreal in 1978. The Subcommittee on Taxonomy, chaired by Harold Merskey, published its first list of definitions in PAIN, by then a bimonthly journal, in 1979. The first national Chapters formed.

In 1981, Ainsley Iggo became president at the 3rd World Congress in Edinburgh. PAIN continued to grow under Wall’s leadership, becoming a monthly publication in 1982. The Ad Hoc Committee on Ethical Issues, chaired by Manfred Zimmermann, published ethical guidelines for research in conscious animals in 1983.

At the 4th World Congress in 1984, held in Seattle, Ronald Melzack became president of IASP. The first edition of the Committee on Taxonomy’s “Classification of Chronic Pain” appeared in PAIN in 1986 (a second edition was to appear in book form in 1994). The 5th World Congress in Hamburg in 1987 saw the presentation of the first IASP refresher courses. As president, Michael J. Cousins oversaw the creation of several new task forces, including one on acute pain management, another to develop a curriculum for pain management, and others to review standards for pain treatment facilities and for fellowship training in pain. 1987 was a banner year for the organization as it obtained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO) as a nongovernmental organization. The first pain curriculum outline appeared in 1988. IASP’s first Special Interest Group, on pain in childhood, formed in 1989.

At the 6th World Congress in Adelaide in 1990, Ulf Lindblom became president. The same year, Ronald Dubner joined Wall as chief co-editor of PAIN, and the journal added three double issues per year. At the 7th World Congress in Paris in 1993, John D. Loeser took office. Also in 1993, Council approved IASP Press®, which, under editor Howard L. Fields, began publication of books on important topics to the pain field, including congress proceedings. IASP’s quarterly bulletin, Pain: Clinical Updates, focusing on current medical topics and edited by Daniel B. Carr, first appeared in 1993. The Committee on Ethics guidelines for pain research in human subjects were published in PAIN in 1995. John Liebeskind established a Pain Archival Collection at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1995. The same year saw publication of the second edition of the Core Curriculum for Professional Education in Pain, edited by Fields.

Jean-Marie Besson took office at the 8th World Congress, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1996. The 9th World Congress in Vienna in 1999 welcomed new president Barry Sessle. Dubner became the sole chief editor of PAIN with Wall’s retirement in 1999, and in 2003 he passed the stewardship of the journal on to Allan Basbaum. In the same year, Catherine Bushnell assumed the editorship of IASP Press.

The 10th World Congress in San Diego in 2002 welcomed over 5,000 delegates. Michael Bond, the new president, promoted better pain education in developing countries. During his term, IASP significantly increased its aid for developing countries, with a particular emphasis on education. The IASP Global Day Against Pain, in conjunction with a Global Year Against Pain of the same theme, was launched in Geneva in October 2004 with the slogan “Pain Treatment Should Be a Human Right.”

The 11th World Congress was held in Sydney, Australia, in 2005, a year that marked the 30th anniversary of the Florence meeting and the first publication of PAIN, and welcomed President Troels S. Jensen. The Core Curriculum’s third edition, edited by J. Edmond Charlton, was published both online and in hard copy. “Pain in Childhood” was the Global Day and Global Year theme for 2005–2006.  The Global Year theme for 2006-2007 was "Pain in Older Persons". IASP developed its first strategic plan, launched a new interactive website, and revamped the image of the IASP Press during this time frame

2008 saw the largest number of attendees at the 12th World Congress in Glasgow, Scotland. IASP also changed the Global Day Against Pain to a year long event with the theme Global Year Against Pain in Women (2007-2008). IASP and its chapters, using the 18 fact sheets in 8 languages, was succesful in promoting the message "real women, real pain" to the public and media. Gerald F. Gebhart became president during a time that also saw a complete revision of the IASP bylaws, the first electronic voting process and a new logo and image for the association.  The Global Year Against Cancer Pain theme had not only factsheets available in several languages, but a special research symposia on cancer pain associated with the movement.

Member Reflections

Mark Churcher worked in a pain relief unit in Plymouth UK from 1965 to 1992. He was the first secretary of the British and Irish Pain Society and a founding member of IASP. Read his paper reflecting on his experiences working in the field of pain.

IASP Past President Troels S. Jensen, MD, DMSc, delivered an Outgoing President's Address at the 12th World Congress on Pain in Glasgow, Scotland. View the slides from his presentation.