Implementing a Health Policy Intervention to Improve Access to Pain Relief for Patients with Cancer in Africa
By: Martha A. Maurer, Virginia T. LeBaron, Aaron M. Gilson, Emmanuel Luyirika Fatia Kiyange, Henry Ddungu, and James F. Cleary
Background
- Increased burden of cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)1
- Patients often diagnosed at late-stage when pain is severe
- Inadequate pain relief without access to opioid analgesics2-3
- Morphine consumption greater in high-income countries than in LMICs (Fig. 1)
- Consumption disparities attributed to outdated, stigmatizing or overly restrictive national drug control and healthcare regulatory policies4-6