Painaustralia were invited to comment on a National Men's Health and National Women’s Health Strategy.
We know there are multiple areas in which men and boys in Australia are experiencing ill health and premature mortality that require focused attention. Australia's 12 million males experience varying health outcomes across population characteristics like Indigenous status, remoteness, socioeconomic disadvantage and age.
Significant issues that impact men’s health and are specific to pain management are injuries, veterans’ health and opioid use and dependence as well as the stigma attached to seeking appropriate care. These areas were all supported with data and evidence-based information to demonstrate the scope of chronic pain and the impact it has on Australian men's lives.
Our submission concluded with recommendations including targeted consumer education, better pain management training for health care professionals and better access to multidisciplinary care by harnessing technology and emerging research.
Our submission for the Women’s Strategy included information on the current health care climate in Australia, gender-specific, pain-related issues faced by women and ways to improve outcomes.
Many women remain disadvantaged, with greater health needs, lower access to quality health care and poorer health outcomes. Forty-four per cent of the burden of disease in females is from cancer, musculoskeletal conditions, and cardiovascular disease, with pain a common element across these conditions.
Painaustralia took this opportunity to discuss the impact of chronic pain on women using data on the prevalence of pain among women, the effect of caring roles on their lives, chronic pain’s role in economic and social exclusion and recommendations as to how this situation can be effectively improved (which also overlap with recommendations made for the Men’s Health submission).
Click here to see the National Men’s Health Strategy submission, and here for the National Women’s Health Strategy submission.