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Essential Pain Management

Essential Pain Management (EPM) is a cost-effective, multi-disciplinary programme. Run in over 55 countries it brings together local health workers to improve pain knowledge, implement a simple framework for managing pain and address pain management barriers. 

The EPM Programme

The programme has two parts – the EPM one-day workshop, and an EPM instructor workshop. Essential Pain Management uses a ‘snowball’ model for training – potential instructors are identified early and, through the instructor workshop, are provided with skills to run more workshops. They are immediately provided with an opportunity to run their own workshop with the support of more experienced instructors.

EPM aims to:

  • Improve pain knowledge.
  • Teach health workers to Recognize, Assess and Treat pain (RAT).
  • Address pain management barriers.
  • Train local health workers to teach EPM

Who is EPM for?

The programme is designed for any health worker who comes in contact with patients who have pain. The “recognise, assess and treat pain” (RAT) approach can be applied to pain of all types (acute or chronic, cancer or non-cancer) and can be used by all types of health workers, including doctors, nurses, clinic workers and pharmacists.

For some, the information in the EPM Workshop will be new. For others, the course will provide a revision of basic principles, a systematic approach for managing patients in pain and a system for teaching others about pain management.

Further Resources

Title image: EPM course participants and faculty in Malawi 2023

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