Reimagining chronic pain management: the case for integrated care in India

Abstract

PurposeThe viewpoint essay focusses on the significance of integrated care (IC) for chronic pain in India, in an attempt to reflect on how pain management and care can be made more accessible and available to patients.Design/methodology/approachThis reflective essay invites looking at chronic pain beyond biomedical perspectives. Insights from the medical humanities and the social sciences are used to emphasise chronic pain as a psychosocial and socio-political phenomenon and not just a biomedical category.FindingsThe essay argues that there are several challenges and barriers to the recognition and validation of chronic pain as a speciality.Originality/valueIC has not received sufficient attention in the Indian context, where medical curricula and training do not sufficiently include an understanding of the multi-faceted aspects surrounding chronic pain. By highlighting the role of humanistic approaches to effectively bridge the gap, this viewpoint essay illustrates the significance of drawing on an integrated or holistic healthcare framework.