title: The Canadian STOP-PAIN project - Part 1: Who are the patients  on the waitlists of multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Canadian STOP-PAIN Project assessed the human and economic burden of chronic pain in individuals on waitlists of Multidisciplinary Pain Treatment Facilities (MPTF). This article presents the patients' bio-psycho-social profile.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 728 patients was recruited from waitlists of eight university-affiliated MPTFs across Canada. Subjects completed validated questionnaires to: 1) assess the characteristics and impact of their pain; and 2) evaluate their emotional functioning and quality of life (QoL). Follow-up questionnaires were completed by a subgroup of 271 patients three months later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Close to 2/3 of the participants reported severe pain (> or = 7/10) that interfered substantially with various aspects of their daily living and QoL. Severe or extremely severe levels of depression were common (50.0%) along with suicidal ideation (34.6%). Patients aged > 60 yr were twice as likely to experience severe pain (> or = 7/10) as their younger counterparts (P = 0.002). Patients with frequent sleep problems were more at risk of reporting severe pain (P < or = 0.003). Intense pain was also associated with a greater tendency to catastrophize (P < 0.0001) severe depressive symptoms (P = 0.003) and higher anger levels (P = 0.016). Small but statistically significant changes in pain intensity and emotional distress were observed over a three-month wait time (all P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the severe impairment that patients experience waiting for treatment in MPTFs. Knowing that current facilities cannot meet the clinical demand, it is clear that effective prevention/treatment strategies are needed earlier in primary and secondary care settings to minimize suffering and chronicity.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, QC, Canada. manon.choiniere.chum@ssss.gouv.qc.ca <manon.choiniere.chum@ssss.gouv.qc.ca>
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choinière
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dion
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Banner
authors.forename: Pamela M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boulanger
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Allan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Denise N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Guerriere
authors.forename: Marie-Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Guertin
authors.forename: Howard M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Intrater
authors.forename: Sandra M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lefort
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Dwight E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Moulin
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ong-Lam
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Racine
authors.forename: Saifee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rashiq
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shir
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taenzer
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ware
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D018710:Pain Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D059408:Pain Management; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014850:Waiting Lists; D055815:Young Adult