ACADEMIC LEAGUE FOR MINORITIES’ RIGHTS: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT ON CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS AND THEIR STRUGGLES TO BE HEARD

ACADEMIC LEAGUE FOR MINORITIES’ RIGHTS:

  AN EXPERIENCE REPORT ON CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS AND THEIR STRUGGLES TO BE HEARD

Victoria Guimaraes de Melo Cardoso1

Mirlane Guimaraes de Melo Cardoso2

Pedro Henrique Correa de Oliveira3

Caio Guimaraes de Melo Cardoso4

1- Law student, Amazonas State University/UEA; President of the Academic League for Minorities’ Rights;  2 - PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Amazonas; Anesthesiologist; Certificate of Performance in the Area of Pain and Paliative Care; Responsible for the Pain and Palliative Care Service, Fundação Centro de Controle de Oncologia do Amazonas; 3- Law Student, Amazonas State University/UEA; Vice President of the Academic League for Minorities Rights; 4 – Law student, Amazonas State University.

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Aim of Investigation:

In Brazil, the Academic Leagues (AL) are associations of students of different years of graduation who seek to deepen their knowledge by orienting themselves and being responsible for the AL’s planning processes. Created in 2016, the Academic League for Minorities’ Rights always strived to complement the academic formation of its students, as well as to shine light on topics regarding the rights - often times ignored - of those who are in a severe state of vulnerability or socially ostracized, due to race, gender, sexual orientation and those who find themselves in an advanced stage of chronic pain.

The prevalence of chronic pain in Brazil is approximately 62% to 90% depending on the stage of the disease, and within that spectrum 60% of patients have their pain misdiagnosed and under treated. Faced with this reality in the state of Amazonas where patients are marginalized and unaware of their rights in regard to pain treatments, even though they are constitutionally assured, was verified the need to build a multidimensional and interdisciplinary dialogue between Medicine and Law in order to acquire and disseminate information on a major public health issue in Amazonas and Brazil where mistreated pain can lead to absenteeism, and that – aside from numerous other reasons - should be immediately treated as a matter of public policy, not only because it affects the lives of thousands, but because it can severely reflect on the State’s economy.

Methods:

In order to further understand the complexity of the issue, this report draws its mostly primary sources from doctors specialized in the field of chronic pain treatment and palliative care, whom can better understand their patient’s state, both physical and mental, and can confirm their vulnerability in face of the difficulties regarding medical access. After several meetings, with dates and subject matter previously stablished, the members of the AL promoted plenaries with the entire student body, including students from different backgrounds – Law, Medicine, Psychology, Philosophy, etc. –, as well as health professionals and social workers.

After comprehending the social aspect, the Academic League for Minorities’ Rights consulted lawyers who could explain why a constitutionally guaranteed right and an internationally recognized human right was so out of reach to those who the legislation was destined, failing to comply with basic fundamental rights. 

Results:

Upon examination of these events, one problem showed to be the most prominent; The lack of information on the matter, patients don’t seem to know their rights when it comes to pain treatment and the State is not vocal about their responsibilities either. Also, it can be said that the discussion of the matter seems to stay restricted to the field of Medicine, leading to a mass unawarerness of a serious issue.

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