Canadian Pain Task Force Meeting: September 9, 2019
Canadian Pain Task Force Meeting: September 19 2019, 13:30-16:30 EST
Via teleconference
Meeting Summary
Objectives
- Share updates on recent activities of the Task Force and Secretariat and debrief on the first phase of the Task Force mandate
- Obtain input and advice from the Advisory Panel on the vision for the second report and the draft stakeholder engagement plan
- Obtain input and advice from the Advisory Panel on the approach to regional workshops
Participants
TF: Fiona Campbell, Maria Hudspith, Melissa Anderson, Manon Choinière, Hani El-Gabalawy, Jacques Laliberté, Jaris Swidrovich, and Linda Wilhelm
EAP: Norm Buckley, Anshu Gupta, Jennifer Harris, Gilles Lavigne, David Lussier, Laura Murphy, Steven Passmore, Dean Penney, John Pereira, Patricia Poulin, Kathleen Reid, Michael Sangster, and Colleen Varcoe
Secretariat: Andrea Currie, Andrew Taylor, and Kristyn Franklin
Regrets: Christine Chambers, Justina Marianayagam, Gerald Zamponi
Welcome and Roll Call
- The Secretariat welcomed everyone and provided an overview of the meeting objectives and agenda.
Affiliations and Interests
- Steven Passmore and Gerald Zamponi have joined the External Advisory Panel.
- Friederike Ballantyne and Pamela Schacht (joint membership) have stepped down from the External Advisory Panel.
- Christine Chambers has been named as Scientific Director for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (beginning January 2020). She will continue her role on the External Advisory Panel.
Canadian Pain Task Force and Secretariat Updates
- The first Task Force report was posted online in July.
- Updates were provided on inter-governmental engagement. Of note, Veterans Affairs Canada formally announced funding for a Centre of Excellence on Chronic Pain, which will focus on chronic pain in Veterans.
- Updates were provided on engagement with various stakeholder groups and non-governmental organizations.
Debrief of the first phase of the Task Force mandate
- Participants debriefed and discussed the process for developing the first Task Force report. Members noted what worked well and what could have been improved:
- Timelines for developing the report were short creating challenges.
- The in-person meetings in March and May were important to provide an orientation and foundation for the work of the Task Force.
- It is helpful to receive strategic direction based on members’ areas of expertise.
- A Health Canada media release in both official languages should be explored in the future.
- The Secretariat should create a more comprehensive communications plan, which clearly articulates member roles.
- Members noted receiving positive feedback to date from stakeholders and that the report has generated suggestions for issues to consider in the next phase of the Task Force’s work.
- There was discussion of how to improve engagement with particular stakeholder groups in the next stage of the Task Force work (e.g., family physicians, people with concurrent substance use disorder).
Draft phase 2 report outline and stakeholder engagement plan
- Secretariat staff provided a brief overview of the 4 main elements of the stakeholder engagement plan, including regional workshops, online consultation tools, themed meetings, and specific and culturally appropriate engagement of Indigenous Populations.
- Task Force and Advisory Panel members appreciated the use of multiple methodologies to achieve various engagement goals.
- A summary of specific feedback includes:
- Incorporating an equity lens.
- Ensuring we explore larger systemic challenges that impact the delivery of pain services.
- Engaging educational and certification bodies.
- Distinguishing and recognizing appropriate federal, provincial, territorial, and local roles.
- Creating short and strategic engagement tools to enable Task Force and Advisory Panel member outreach.
Regional workshops
- Secretariat provided an overview of the approach to the regional workshops.
- Task Force and Advisory Panel members reiterated the importance of including a broad and diverse group of participants.
- A summary of specific feedback includes:
- Engaging and supporting people living with and affected by pain in the workshops.
- Exploring additional mechanisms to garner input from geographic areas outside of the workshop locations.
- Focusing on regional strengths and how to enable spread of best practices.
Next steps and follow-up items
- Secretariat to revise report outline and engagement plan based on member input.
- Secretariat to explore alternative means to host future meetings to avoid technical difficulties.
- Secretariat to draft a discussion guide for the regional workshops and send to members for review and feedback.
- Secretariat to send out membership lists of the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Working Group on Pain and the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Committee on Problematic Substance Use and Harms, and help to make connections for Task Force and Advisory Panel members.
- Secretariat to send out future meeting dates and engagement schedule to members.
- The next scheduled joint meeting of the Task Force and Advisory Panel via videoconference will be December 12, 2019.
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