On February 17th and 18th, we had the opportunity to bring together two groups of experts to have a conversation to explore the strengths, gaps, and opportunities related to treatment, care and support for people living with HIV and chronic pain. The two groups consisted of people with lived experience, health care professionals, researchers, policy makers and representatives from community-based HIV organizations. The facilitated conversations touched on topics ranging from access to pain management, stigma related to living with HIV and/or drug use, the range of pain one can experience (physical, emotional, psychological, etc.), measurement of pain, and strategies for people living with pain, health professionals and researchers to use to manage, provide care and move the conversation forward. A report is currently in progress that will provide further insight on the discussion that occurred and future steps for Realize and those in the broader community.
The Think Tank report will be released in the coming months. Please watch for it on our home page, www.realizecanada.org for the report or reach out to Elizabeth Racz, (eracz@realizecanada.org).