Treatment of chronic primary pain – An evidence map of systematic reviews

Background

Chronic pain is a common condition that may have various causes, such as disease, injury, or inflammation. Pain is defined as chronic when it persists or recurs for longer than three months. In the case of chronic primary pain, the pain itself is considered the condition rather than a symptom of an underlying cause. The condition is often complex and may be associated with physical, psychological, and social consequences.

Chronic pain is more common among women than men and is a major contributor to the overall burden of disease. This project is conducted within the government assignment of the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) on women's health, and its findings may contribute to the National Board of Health and Welfare’s work to develop national guidelines for chronic pain conditions.

Aim

The project aims to identify and map existing systematic reviews of treatments for chronic primary pain. In addition, the project will examine whether sex has been considered and analyzed within these systematic reviews.

Project group

Experts

• Emmanuel Bäckryd, Consultant physician, Senior Associate Professor of Pain Medicine, Linköping University
• Steven J. Linton, Psychologist, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Örebro University
• Hedvig Zetterberg, Physiotherapist, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Mid Sweden University

From SBU

• Fanny Sellberg, Project Manager
• Afroditi Barouti, Assistant Project Manager
• Carl Gornitzki, Information Specialist
• Sigrid Widén, Project Administrator
• Jenny Odeberg, Head of Project