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The European Pain Federation (EFIC) is a multidisciplinary professional organization in the field of pain research and pain management, consisting of the 37 chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) in Europe.
EFIC supports the mission of IASP — to promote research, education, and the clinical management of pain.
The specific aim of EFIC is to create a forum for European collaboration on pain issues and to encourage communication at a European level between IASP chapters and with other bodies interested or involved in the fields of pain research and therapy. These include European societies or federations of medical specialties (anesthesiology, neurology, headache, palliative care, etc.), institutions of the European Community, and European and national educators and legislators.
EFIC focuses primarily on the three activities of education, research, and advocacy, with the aim of improving pain management and pain research.
Regarding education, EFIC organizes Pain Schools that bring together leading educators to provide study programs across Europe. EFIC has developed curricula on pain medicine and pain physiotherapy and accompanying examinations. The European Diploma in Pain Medicine (EDPM) and the European Diploma in Pain Physiotherapy (EDPP) examinations take place once a year. Further exams are planned, covering the curricula on nursing and psychology.
Concerning research, EFIC assembles clinical task forces to develop clinical outputs such as guidelines and standards of care documents. EFIC has also taken part in research consortia via programs funded by the European Commission, such as Horizon Europe Programme and the Innovative Medicines Initiative. EFIC also offers grants and prizes to reward the pain research community.
On advocacy, the ‘Societal Impact of Pain’ (SIP) platform is a multi-stakeholder partnership led by EFIC and Pain Alliance Europe (PAE), which aims to raise awareness of pain and change pain policies. The platform provides opportunities for discussion for health care professionals, pain advocacy groups, politicians, healthcare insurance providers, representatives of health authorities, regulators, and budget holders. In 2019, EFIC initiated the European Pain Forum, bringing together all major scientific societies and patients to work together on issues where we share a common scientific understanding. The Forum has led to the development of clinical practice recommendations cowritten and endorsed by 10 different scientific societies.