A new Haleon report claims pain shoots up over decade

Consumer health company Haleon suggests that the emotional and life impact of pain has gone up by 25 per cent in the past decade.

The company has launched a campaign #ListenToPain to personalize patients’ pain management through practical tools and resources.

Introduced on 28 September, the campaign focuses on enabling the HCPs to maximise their time with patients and better understand their pain experience – providing them with an effective treatment plan.

The new data has been obtained through the fifth edition of the Haleon Pain Index (HPI). This social study measured the impact of individuals’ everyday lives, their health, their feelings, their emotions, motivations, and behaviors.

They have spoken to more than 87,000 people around the world since their first edition in 2014 – HPI 1 (The State of Pain), which later progressed over the years from HPI 2 (Impact of Pain) in 2017, then HPI 3 (Managing Pain) in 2018, to HPI 4 (Treatment Journey), and finally HPI 5 (Pain and Inclusivity) in 2023.

The investigation has established five profiles that describe people with different attitudes and behaviours toward pain management.

“Pharmacists continue to play a vital role in overcoming barriers to effective pain management; this includes helping facilitate a shift in patient attitudes towards how they communicate and describe their pain experience.

“Research has shown that there is often a disconnect in the conversations patients have with HCPs. Through a human-centric approach to these patient/pharmacist interactions, HCPs can deliver more personalized and effective treatment plans to manage pain,” says John Bell, a pharmacist practitioner and one of the five people represented by the profiles emerging from HPI.

The Global Pain Index (GPI) study has been conducted on 19,000 consumers who contributed to the five profiles and their relationship with pain.

The #ListenToPain campaign aims to equip HCPs with new tools and techniques to understand their patients’ pain better.

“We understand that there will always be the time pressure and the reality of a transactional pharmacy environment, but the #ListenToPain mission is to optimize and personalize every interaction taking these challenges into account.

“An improved discussion on pain is an opportunity for better patient outcomes with pain relief in the short term, and pain management for the long term. By understanding how pain is expressed and interpreted, new pain management strategies can be tailored to each individual patient.

“As leaders in the pain relief category, with a strong portfolio of trusted brands in the UK, such as Panadol and Voltarol, we believe it is our responsibility to listen to people’s pain and provide tailored solutions for everyday pain management.

“We are doing this by supporting healthcare professionals to have better conversations with their patients. That is what #ListenToPain offers,” said Mukesh Kumar, Global Expert Lead for OTC at Haleon.