AMERICAN CHRONIC PAIN ASSOCIATION INC

To reach all those living with pain who believe there is no hope for tomorrow. To share the four decades of knowledge and tools and support systems we have in place to help them. We see the bigger problem as getting the word out, reaching those who have shut themselves off to the outside world. Those are the ones most in need of our services. We will continue our efforts to reach out to anyone wiling to help themselves.

• Strengthening and further expanding our network of peer support groups.
• Continuing to develop our unique materials for self help and actively marketing them not only to individuals but also to professionals and institutions that serve people with pain.
• Providing a broader array of resources to consumers, caregivers, and the media via a redesigned web site.
• Representing and speaking for people with pain on committees, panels, commissions, and other groups where education, information, and action steps are being developed.
• Acting as a clearinghouse and point of contact for groups with an interest in pain, to create synergy and enhance the effectiveness of programs concerning pain and pain care.

Over the last four decades we have developed a vast network of peer support groups that are able to connect with people living with pain and teach them necessary self-management skills while at the same time providing the support they need. The most important element the ACPA groups provides is validation that they are not alone and there are many others who look "normal" but their lives are filled with pain.

We also have put all our of communication tools and educational videos on our web page (www.theacpa.org) and made them free to anyone who needs them. The suite of communication tools allow them to have meaningful conversations with the health care professional about their pain, the impact on their life and what the contributing factors to their pain, allowing them tracking these factors with the interactive graphical tools and share them via email with their health care provider.

Our web site, enjoying sometimes as many as two million hits a month, is robust and filled with the information people with pain need to take an active role in their treatment, learn more about their condition, find resources and obtain all the free communication tools needed to make the most of their time with their health care provider.

We address the needs of kids living with pain through our on line education program called, Growing Pains www.growingpains.org. It provides them with a platform that meets their needs and connects them with others their own age that share common issues when faced with a chronic pain. It also provides the same self management education as our web page in a format they can comprehend.

Our Vets In Pain program over the last six year has allowed us to visit more than 70 VA health care facilities providing a day long training on living with and managing pain. This program has been very popular and the demand is high for additional training. We have also done programs for agricultural works in rural areas and Native Americans on reservations. It is important to ensure that we seek out people form all walks of life and diverse groups.

We believe that getting out and talking with people face to face is the most powerful means to communicate our message . Because we are people who live with pain, our message is much more meaningful, we have lived through and understand what it like to have pain as your constant companion. We will continue our outreach to bring the message of hope and help to anyone who is willing to listen, no matter where they live.

This year we introduced a new video for recognizing an opioid emergency and what to do in case of emergency. The video is posted on our web page and is now included in all our presentations. We have also made it available on DVD and distributed it at a recent American Pain Society meeting and will do the same at the upcoming American Academy of Pain Medicine.

We are ready to film a new video on migraines sharing their personal stories of many who live with them. We have have a expert who will provide information to our viewers. In addition we are holding five community educational events in Kansas, Pennsylvania, Florida, and two in California to educate those living with migraines and those who care for them. The main component of the program will focus on the self management skills to empower those who feel hopeless and often of out control.

We just received word that our abuse deterrent formulations (ADF) project was funded. We will be surveying our members on their understanding of what ADF are and what they know then using that infiltration to create an educational video on ADF.

There are several other educational projects in the works as we move forward in 2018. We are also involved in the International Alliance of Patient Organizations where our founder and CEO will become chair in August of the global patient organization. Her aim is to bring the issue of pain to the forefront of the conversation in all the patient organizations around the world.

We are also planning on more Vets In Pain events if the funding is available.