Canadian Pain Task Force Meeting: July 23, 2020

Canadian Pain Task Force Meeting: July 23, 2020, 12:00-13:00 EST
Via videoconference

Meeting Summary

Provide debrief of virtual meeting with pain researchers, including next steps
Discuss annotated outline for draft of Phase II report, and revised timelines and milestones
Provide status updates on various ongoing projects and engagements

Task Force: Fiona Campbell, Maria Hudspith, Manon Choinière, Jacques Laliberté, Michael Sangster, Jaris Swidrovich, Linda Wilhelm

Regrets: Hani El-Gabalawy

Secretariat: Dhilal Alhaboob, Baies Haqani, Pamela Rizzo, Andrew Taylor, Megan Wyszynski, Lindsey Yessick

The Secretariat welcomed everyone and provided an overview of the meeting objectives and agenda. The Secretariat also inquired about changes to Task Force member affiliations and interests, with no significant updates reported.

The Secretariat provided an overview of a virtual meeting held with select Task Force and External Advisory Panel (EAP) members and pain researchers, including the key objectives of the meeting, notable themes raised during the discussion, and next steps for integrating findings in the Phase II report.
The objectives of the meeting were to identify gaps and barriers to developing and implementing pain research, share current best, promising and emerging practices to pain research, and identify ideas and strategies for an improved approach to pain research and related knowledge translation in Canada.
Members discussed notable themes from the meeting, which involved discussion of improvements in research infrastructure and strategic initiatives for pain, gaps in translation of basic science findings to clinical settings, how to accelerate pain research and translation, and the importance of integrating people living with pain and patients in research.
Secretariat and select Task Force members will continue to meet with select researchers who were not able to participate and will incorporate results from these meetings in the Phase II report. Members will also consider how to further engage researchers as part of Phase III of their mandate.

Overview of online consultation analysis and Phase II report development

Task Force members discussed and provided direction on the annotated outline for the draft Phase II report and associated timelines and milestones.
The Task Force discussed presentation of analyses, favouring the consolidation of various engagement inputs across the main themes of inquiry as well as the importance of aligning and building from the Phase I report.

Task Force review of patient and clinician resources

Members discussed an opportunity for the Task Force and EAP to review select content for upcoming knowledge translation resources being developed by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH).
The resources are of potential national interest and focus on providing evidence and practical considerations when prescribing or recommending certain physical, psychological, and preventive interventions for pain.
The Task Force clarified the work is national in scope, confirmed the parameters of the review, and agreed to undertake the work.

Next steps and follow-up items

The Task Force discussed the status of planning and resources for Phase III, including the importance of reaching out to non-health stakeholders and those who have yet to participate in Task Force engagement activities. The Secretariat will develop a plan for Task Force review.
A draft of the Phase II report will be shared with the Task Force to prepare for their next meeting on August 12.
A potential plan for the September 9-10 2020 joint Task Force and EAP meeting will be shared with the Task Force by August 12. The meeting will be dedicated to finalizing the Phase II report and beginning Phase III planning.