Hispanic PR Blog

Newton, MA – Inflexxion, a company that develops scientifically validated solutions for critical areas of health care, is pleased to announce the publication of Cross-Cultural Pain Management: Effective Treatment of Pain in the Hispanic Population. The manual, available at no charge to health care practitioners who register at the PainEDU.org website, provides guidance for practitioners seeking to improve pain management for their Hispanic patients.

“There is a cultural transformation taking place in the United States, and a disparity in treatment exists at many levels as a result of this growing diversity. This manual is aimed at helping practitioners develop the skills needed to provide the highest quality of care for all of their patients,” says co-author Kevin Zacharoff, M.D. “While this book offers details about some of the issues that may separate Hispanic patients from others, its primary purpose is to minimize these differences to reach common ground. We hope to help enhance mutual understanding and communication between health care providers and Hispanic patients, which is critical to quality care.”

Cross-Cultural Pain Management covers a broad range of topics that are important for meeting the needs of Hispanic patients. These include federal guidelines for providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services, a discussion of beliefs about the nature of pain in the Hispanic culture, how Hispanic patients may express pain, and non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches to pain management for Hispanic patients. The manual includes appendices with practical tools and resources for clinicians, such as the Spanish version of the Wong-Baker Faces pain scale, translations of common pain words, and references to relevant websites for clinicians and patients.

In addition, the manual introduces Inflexxion’s new painACTION Dolor de Cáncer website (http://www.dolordecancer.com). Developed through a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Dolor de Cáncer is a Spanish-language, free, non-commercial site designed to help Hispanic patients learn about the management of cancer pain.

“To help improve doctor-patient communication and the treatment of pain, we need to address the challenge from both perspectives,” explains Dr. Zacharoff. “We developed the Dolor de Cáncer website to serve as a complement to doctor’s visits, and we hope it will be effective in helping clinicians increase the quality of care for their Hispanic patients who suffer from cancer pain.”

Cross-Cultural Pain Management is the latest addition to the popular Inflexxion Health Series, a collection of practitioner guides by leading experts in pain management. Other publications in the series include The PainEDU Manual: A Pocket Guide to Pain Management 3rd Ed., authored by Lynette A. Menefee Pujol, Ph.D., Nathaniel P. Katz, M.D., and Kevin L. Zacharoff, M.D., and Managing Chronic Pain with Opioids in Primary Care, authored by Nathaniel P. Katz, M.D., M.S., Bill H. McCarberg, M.D., and Lori Reisner, Pharm.D., F.C.S.H.P.

All of the books in the series are complimentary and can be obtained by visiting PainEDU.org and becoming a registered user. Practitioners may download an electronic copy or request that a print copy be delivered free of charge.