Report highlights chronic back pain link to unemployment
One in five Europeans with chronic back pain are unable to work at all as a result of their chronic pain, according to new research sponsored by Pfizer.
The Pain Proposal, funded by the pharmaceutical company and presented to the European Parliament today, includes a survey of 2,019 people with chronic pain across 15 European counties. It suggests that of those able to work, 61% said their condition had impacted directly on their employment status.
According the report, inefficiencies in the treatment of chronic pain are resulting in "increasing healthcare costs and prolongued patient suffering".
Musculoskeletal problems are a major cause of claims for group income protection and group private medical insurances. Insurers have developed a number of strategies for tackling this, from open access to physiotherapy to supporting self-management of pain.
Previous studies have shown that chronic pain costs Europe billions of Euros every year, with national costs ranging from €1.1 billion to nearly €50 billion. On average, one in five adults in Europe suffer from moderate to severe chronic pain.
Free Accident and Sickness quotation please click here.
Back to all Health Insurance Articles
