[Chronic pain in German medical practices. Current demands placed on the primary health care system due to pain prevalence]

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of chronic pain as related to the supply situation in primary care has been investigated insufficiently.

Patients and methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data of 1,201 patients in 6 different specialists' practices (general medicine, surgery, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, orthopaedics). The questions posed related to socio-demographic facts, pain characteristics, psychosocial effects, previous therapies and their subjective effectiveness.

Results: Pain was the reason for consulting a doctor in nearly 50% of the patients; 40% of all respondents complained about chronic pain, defined as recurrent or constant pain lasting longer than 6 months. As many as 90% of these subjects reported psychosocial impairment due to chronic pain and 25% evaluated their therapies as ineffective.

Conclusion: Chronic pain is a major problem in primary care. The high level of suffering and the enormous socioeconomic impact on public health demand consequences. Improvements in undergraduate and postgraduate training are urgently required for both an adequate pain treatment and the prevention of chronic pain.