The Alaska Pain Network -- a group of nurses, pharmacists, community advocates, and other health care providers -- invited community support groups that deal with pain to a planning meeting in September 2002. The original plan, to present several community forums on pain, quickly evolved into a statewide Pain Awareness Week.

One of the highlights of the first Pain Awareness Week (held in January 2002) was a Resource Fair in Anchorage. The fair featured information tables for community support groups that deal with pain and for community businesses and providers that offer information on treatments and approaches to pain relief. Speakers provided presentations on pain management topics. Positive feedback about both the fair and the concept of a focused week of pain awareness activities ensured that this series of events would be repeated in 2003.

The 2003 Pain Awareness Week will be January 18th through January 25th. In Anchorage, the second annual Pain Resource Fair will kick off the week of events. It will be held at Providence Alaska Medical Center on January 18th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be over 30 information tables. Both traditional western medical treatments and alternative therapies will be represented, as well as information on adaptive equipment, effective exercise programs, relaxation techniques, and emotional release strategies.

Several speakers will provide formal presentations on pain management topics during the fair. These presentations will include basic information that consumers should know about medications used for pain management to examining strategies for overcoming common barriers that block efforts to achieve effective pain management. One presentation will be an educational session on Music Thanatology, a treatment approach that uses music to offer comfort and support at the end of life to help manage pain, grief and anxiety.

The planning committee encourages health care organizations and other groups to participate in this statewide Pain Awareness Week. Projects can be as simple as a pain information bulletin board or speaking on a pain topic. Creativity is encouraged! Individuals or organizations that would like to participate in the Pain Awareness Week activities should contact Pat Dooley at 273-0517.

Information about the Alaska Pain Network:

The Alaska Pain Network is part of the Washington/Alaska Cancer Pain Initiative. The American Alliance of Cancer Pain Initiatives (AACPI) was started in Madison, Wisconsin, about 12 years ago. Now, each state has an initiative. Alaska was one of the last states to get a Cancer Pain Initiative (CPI). In the early 1990s, a woman from Fairbanks, Alaska, approached the Washington Cancer Pain Initiative and donated substantial funds, requesting that they start a CPI in Alaska. Members of the Washington group made several trips to Anchorage and Fairbanks, and a small group of health care providers began meeting in the mid-1990s. This group eventually stopped meeting, but not before merging with the Washington CPI to form the Washington/Alaska CPI, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating health care providers and consumers about pain management.

A small group continued to meet in Fairbanks as part of the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital pain management task force. This group, coordinated by Karen Laird, RN, produced a newsletter every other month called The Pain News. The Fairbanks group became a separate group from the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital task force in 2001, though the hospital continues to support the newsletter production and distribution.

In 1998, the Anchorage group began meeting again, coordinated by Pat Dooley, RN. The Fairbanks and Anchorage groups decided to focus not just on cancer pain, but on all types of pain. The Alaska groups also visualized a loose network of health care providers and others that might want to share information about effective pain management with the community. In 1999, the Alaska group took the name “Alaska Pain Network” to reflect the Alaskan focus and structure. Pat Dooley and Karen Laird serve on the board of the Washington/Alaska CPI and act as liaisons between the Alaska and Washington groups, and as co-coordinators for Alaska activities. Funds come from donations made to the Washington/Alaska CPI, and are used to provide educational activities to both health care providers and consumers about pain management.