Pennsylvania Cancer Pain Initiative (PCPI)

A statewide voluntary professional organization since 1989, the Pennsylvania Cancer Pain Initiative (PCPI) is comprised of health-care professionals, educators, public officials, community leaders, and people diagnosed with cancer and their families and friends. PCPI membership totals more than 1,500 health-care professionals and represents 66 of the 67 Pennsylvania counties. The statewide infrastructure of the PCPI advances three goals central to the PCPI mission:

Increase provider knowledge about pain assessment, pain
relief, and appropriate prescribing practices;
Educate the public about their rights to pain control; and
Serve as a resource center for education and communication of pain relief.

PCPI has identified the following most frequently reported barriers (listed in priority):

Lack of knowledge among physicians about pain management;
Lack of expertise with pain management by health-care professionals;
Undermedication of patients by physicians; and
Fears of addiction, abuse, overdose, or overprescribing.

The goal of the PCPI professional education interventions is to improve pain control practice of health-care providers and thereby, the quality of life among oncology populations. PCPI strategies include 1) facilitate professional and public education, 2) promote positive attitudes toward pain resolutions, and 3) expand the number of community role models. The PCPI proposed pain policy promotes regular assessment and management of cancer pain.

To promote educational outreach to statewide health-care professionals, the PCPI plan, develop, and coordinate both professional and public education. Professional education outreach includes:

Website, www.papainrelief.org
Annual one-day conference
Biannual cancer pain role model conferences
Community workshops
Quarterly newsletter
Educational display for educational conferences, professional meetings, etc.
PCPI Membership brochure.

Public education outreach includes:

Website, www.papainrelief.org
Educational display used in physicians' offices, waiting areas, health fairs, etc.
Public awareness poster
Cancer Pain Relief brochure used as a model by the National Cancer Institute
PCPI Membership brochure.

Interventions to change pain control practice and improve the quality of life among hospice and oncology populations include continued professional and public education, promotion of positive attitudes, and expansion of community role models.

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