Pain Schools & Camps

Held from April 7-11, 2019, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, this intensive residential course was followed by the 8th ASEAPS Congress April 11-14, 2019.

The pain camp aimed to boost understanding of pain concepts and the basics of interdisciplinary pain management for health care workers starting pain services or working in pain and related fields in Asia. Learning objectives included improving participants’ knowledge of pain pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management using a biopsychosocial approach; providing an impetus for pain practitioners in Asian countries to develop multidisciplinary pain management infrastructure or to enhance existing infrastructure; fostering closer collaboration among Asian pain practitioners; and raising the level of care for Asian pain patients.

The most recent was held in Santiago, Chile, November 19-22, 2018. 

The IASP PMC-Chile 2018 was a 4-day intensive course, whose main objective was to initiate and / or update health professionals on the approach of patients with pain, in basic and clinical subjects, and in an interdisciplinary way. It was aimed at health professionals who want to start pain services or who are already working with patients with chronic pain, both in medical specialties and in other health professions. The program included topics relevant to the day-to-day clinical practice of pain, as well as others aimed at the educational and organizational aspects of health services for pain management.

The European Pain School (EPS2018), an educational project of IASP, took place in Siena, Italy, June 10-17, 2018. 

Young scientists at the Ph.D. or postdoctoral levels (or equivalent) in all fields of pain science and pain medicine were encouraged to apply. The theme of the meeting was "CNS Versus PNS Contributions to Persistent Pain." The European Pain School (EPS) was the first and is still the premier school intended for students working on basic science and clinical topics related to acute and chronic pain. EPS has an interdisciplinary perspective and a distinct research orientation.

The International Pain Summer School in South America addressed mechanisms mediating the transition between acute pain and chronic, pathological pain and how these are modulated by, and in turn, modulate societal factors. This pain school also focused on interrogating, discussing, and debating the structure-function properties of neural circuits that are of key importance to acute and chronic pain and how they are dynamically altered over the course of pain chronicity.

The school incorporated refresher courses, special lectures, methods-oriented workshops, trainee talks, debates, and direct one-to-one interactions with dynamic and inspiring international faculty. Another key aim was to promote scientific and cultural exchange between South American scientists and the international pain community.

The IASP-ISSP Multidisciplinary Evidence-Based Pain Management Program was a partnership between the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and the Indian Society for the Study of Pain (ISSP), bringing together experts from multiple specialties to provide a unique education and training experience for health-care professionals in India.

The program provided an interactive, participatory, educational experience for health-care workers in India who are interested in pain management. The curriculum included fundamentals of pain physiology and pathophysiology and practical concepts of the assessment, diagnosis, and interdisciplinary management of acute and chronic pain conditions. The program covered topics relevant to day-to-day clinical practice in small-group sessions, and provided learning materials and tools to help manage patients with a broad spectrum of pain states. The course took place over a six-month period, with three two-day in-person sessions at two sites, Delhi and Mumbai. The most recent programs were held in March, May, and July 2017.