Member News
News from ADDCA, Associação de Doentes de Dor Crónica dos Açores (Chronic Pain Patientes Association of Azores)
From April to June 2017
1 – ADDCA continued providing member sessions, open to the public, on medical topics on chronic disease prevention and treatment, both with positive psychological reactions and with appropriate behaviors that reduce the impact of the disease. It is «Functional, Patient-centered Medicine» focused on the interaction of personal, genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. This can influence the long-term health and complexity of chronic diseases and enable physicians and other health professionals to engage in a proactive and personalized practice and empower the sick to take an active role in the progress of their own health.
Continuing to talk about pain prevention and pain management, where the advantages of this approach are very evident, it is important to highlight the contribution of several professionals and different areas.
And we organized meetings with:
- Dr. Ivone Machado, Nutritionist and Member of the Board on «Functional Foods and Constipation»
«Functional Food» can be defined as that food that has a positive impact on human health, physical performance or state of mind, as well as nutritional value; contains active substances that benefit the body, thereby helping to slow down the development of diseases such as diabetes or cancer and promote health; in addition, functional foods also help to improve health problems, such as constipation, a very present problem in patients with chronic pain, either because of limitations in their lifestyle and activities of daily living, or through food or medications.
- Physiotherapist João Sá pointed out the importance of «Prevention of Falls»
The aging process is related to numerous transformations with implications for functionality, mobility, autonomy, health and, consequently, the quality of life of the elderly and is associated with the high incidence of chronic and degenerative diseases, often accompanied by pain and dependence.
Risk factors for falls can be divided into three categories: intrinsic (or individual) factors, extrinsic (or environmental) factors, and exposure to risk.
One way to avoid falls is to act on prevention. This can be achieved through a combination of: awareness-raising and measures to change attitudes such as campaigns in the mainstream media; behavior modification measures such as regular physical activity prescribed and supervised by qualified professionals; measures such as environmental changes and regulation.
2 – ADDCA appointed the Coordinator of the Scientific Council, Dr Maria Teresa Flor-de-Lima and Dr Ivone Machado, member of the Board, to represent the Association in matters of interest to the Association and to the members that are held in Portugal Continental and International level.
3 – ADDCA activities included:
- We attended the «11thedition of the European Patients’ Rights Day», on May 10th in Brussels at the European Economic and Social Committee, meeting on the theme «The European & National Medicines Regulatory Systems: the challenges for an equitable, timely and suitable access to innovation».
- On behalf of the secretariat of the MEPs’ Interest Group «European Patients’ Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare», we were invited to the meeting «HOW TO ENSURE TREATMENTS AND THE RESPECT OF PATIENTS’ TIME ACROSS EUROPE? Focus on timely access to innovative medicines after the European Commission approval», held in Brussels on June 28th at the European Parliament.
- In the Marketplace, during the meeting SIP 2017, 7th-9thJune in Malta, we were able to publicize PAE members’ activities and actions related to SIP and Association´s actions.
4 – ADDCA was a supporter of SIP 2017 and endorsed its objectives:
“We know that chronic pain can´t be cured, but it must be relieved by medications and other treatments for a better quality of life and avoiding suffering.”
“We support SIP 2017 because we are aware of the relevance of the impact of Chronic Pain on patients, families and societies, of the pain control as quality of lyfe and of the importance of pain as a quality indicator for health systems.”
5 – ADDCA was accepted as a new member of PAE General Assembly held the 9th June in Malta.
6 – ADDCA subscribed, from the beginning, to the project «Pain Euro-Mediterranean Coalition» (the challenge of chronic pain: from the European agenda into the European culture), presented in Minorca during the Sine Dolor World Park in May 2017 and under the support of the MEPs’ Interest Group in the European Parliament «European Patient´s Rights & Cross-border Healthcare», the European Multidisciplinary Network in Pain, Research and Education, Efhre International University, and with the promoters «Sine Dolor Association» and «Active Citizenship Network».
