Canadian Pain Task Force Meeting: August 19, 2020

Canadian Pain Task Force Meeting: August 19, 2020, 14:30-16:00 EST
Via videoconference

Meeting Summary

Objectives

• Discuss first draft of Phase II report and needed next steps
• Plan for September Task Force and External Advisory Panel joint meeting
• Provide status updates on various ongoing projects and engagements

Participants

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, Nyree Schreiber, Andrew Taylor, Megan Wyszynski, Lindsey Yessick

Welcome and overview

• 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.

Update on online consultation analysis and Phase II report development

• Prior to the meeting, the Secretariat provided Task Force members with a draft of the Phase II report. During the meeting, members engaged in discussion on overall impressions, needed revisions, gaps, and next steps for preparing for further review by the Task Force and External Advisory Panel.
• The Task Force agreed with the overall frame for the report, which was written in a What We Heard style, incorporating a synthesis from the national online consultation, regional workshops, focused discussions, and evidence gathered during Phase II.
• Members emphasized the importance of further developing content specific to elements of an improved approach to pain across all sections of the report. They also noted concerns surrounding repetition and clarity and suggested strategies for reorganization and reducing and/or consolidating certain content.
• The Task Force agreed that specific best practices listed throughout the report are representative of examples raised by participants but also only point to some of the work going on across the country. Future drafts will therefore need to avoid simple listings of practices and instead focus on providing the details, principles, and ideas involved in the practices most identified by stakeholders.
• Members requested that specific content be created reflecting on population-based disparities and inequity by adding more research on populations disproportionately affected by chronic pain. Recognizing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with pain, the Task Force also suggested adding additional content that reflects on the specific ideas, concerns, and practices relevant to the pandemic.

Planning for the joint meeting of the Task Force and External Advisory Panel

• The Task Force and External Advisory Panel were scheduled to meet on September 9 to 10 to discuss the next iteration of the Phase II report and needed changes to finalize content for submission to Health Canada. Task Force members discussed the overall approach to the meeting and how to ensure appropriate engagement and discussion using a virtual platform.
• The Task Force agreed to a series of large and small working group discussions aligned with the different sections of the report. They also offered suggestions for questions that would stimulate pointed and direct discussions of various content.
• The Task Force encouraged the Secretariat to send the draft report to the Interdepartmental and Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Working Groups on pain for additional reflections on alignment with policy work across Canada. 

Other business – Phase III planning and engagement

• The Task Force briefly discussed the importance of planning for Phase III, noting the need for more dedicated engagement of the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Working Group members.
• The Task Force also discussed main points of emphasis for a future presentation to the Federal Provincial Territorial Conference of Deputy Minister of Health, focused on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with pain.

Next steps and follow-up items

• Task Force members will provide more detailed and specific feedback to the Secretariat, who will then revise and build out the report. A revised version of the report will then be sent to all Task Force and External Advisory Panel members.
• The Task Force and External Advisory Panel will meet in a joint virtual workshop on September 9 to 10 to discuss the report and final changes required.
• The Secretariat will refine the preliminary outreach plan for Phase III and present to the Task Force after the September joint meeting.