AZHIN: Disparities in Pain Care: Introductory Resources

Access to Pain Management as a Human Right
Published: January 2019, American Journal of Public Health.
The concept of access to pain management as a human right has gained increasing currency in recent years. Today, United Nations and regional human rights bodies have accepted the concept and incorporated it into key human rights reports, reviews, and standards. We review the foundations in law of this right and the obligations that flow from it to governments. We analyze the nature and content of the obligation in the context of acute, chronic nonmalignant and cancer pain. Finally, we examine this right in light of the twin crises of inadequate access to pain management and the opioid crisis in the United States and other nations.

Introductory Resources: Cultural Influences (Open Source)

Cultural Influences on Pain
Published: 2008, British Journal of Pain
The relationship between pain and ethnicity is shaped by experience, learning and culture.
Culture's Effects on Pain Assessment and Management
Published: 2010, American Journal of Nursing
When patients belong to a culture or speak a language that's different from that of their health care provider, the provider faces additional challenges in successfully assessing and managing the patients' pain. This article describes how and why culture affects both patients and nurses. It also discusses why members of cultural minority groups frequently receive suboptimal pain management and how nurses can improve patients' pain outcomes by using culturally sensitive assessments and providing culturally comfortable care.
Cultural Differences in Pain Experience among Four Ethnic Groups: A Qualitative Pilot Study
Published: January 2016
A growing body of literature suggests that racial/ethnic groups experience pain differently. The current pilot study explored cultural differences in the meaning of pain, display rules of pain, and pain coping strategies among four ethnic groups (i.e., Caucasians, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics).
Cultural Influences on Pain Perceptions and Behaviors
Published: April 2003, Home Health Care Management & Practice
The perception of pain and behaviors associated
with pain are influenced by the sociocultural contexts of the individuals experiencing pain. This
article provides an overview of the literature on
these cultural influences.

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Introductory Resources: Cultural Disparities (Open Source)

Disparities in Pain Care
This one-pager from the NIH presents information on bias in pain treatment, socioeconomic status, and access to care.
Defining racial and ethnic disparities in pain management.
Published: 2011, Clinical orthopaedics and related research. Scientific literature was selectively reviewed addressing pain epidemiology, differences in pain management of non-Hispanic whites versus racial/ethnic minority groups, and patient and physician factors contributing to such differences.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Assessment and Treatment of Pain
Published: 2014, American Psychologist.
This article provides an overview of psychosocial factors that contribute to disparities in the treatment of
chronic pain patients and in their adjustment to pain.
Racial disparities in pain management in the USA
Published: 2008, The Lancet
In the USA, patients with cancer from ethnic minorities face substantial disparities in the way their pain is treated, according to two studies published at the end of 2007.

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Disparities in Pain Care

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Introductory Resources: Cultural Influences (Open Source)

Introductory Resources: Cultural Disparities (Open Source)

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