Abstract

MARTINEZ CABALLERO, C.  and  EFHRE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY et al. Pain relief: an universal human right. Rev. Soc. Esp. Dolor [online]. 2015, vol.22, n.5, pp.224-230. ISSN 1134-8046.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1134-80462015000500007.

Pain is one of the symptoms that more suffering produces in any disease, being a basic health problem worldwide. However, they often do not receive suitable treatment for cultural, religious, societal and health professionals attitudes as well as political and economic reasons. From the ethical point of view relieve pain is a human right and an obligation for health professionals. The responsibility of professionals with regard to providing adequate pain control is contained in the Hippocratic Oath and the Declaration of Geneva that guarantee the patients' health. From a legislative perspective, international law on human rights forces signatories States to protect with all the resources at its disposal the guaranteed rights without expressly establish the right to adequate pain relief . However, the health right implies the right to an adequate pain management. The article 43 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 recognizes the right to health protection and therefore the right of citizens to receive adequate health care. Likewise, Article 43 includes a matter for the public authorities to organize and safeguard public health through preventive measures and the necessary benefits and services. Even without specifically contemplating the right to pain relief, an adequate health care cannot ignore an important issue as pain relief. The World Health Organization (WHO), has stated that pain relief is a fundamental right and that incurs in a severe lack of ethic of the health professional who prevents a human from accessing the possibility of pain alleviation. WHO has issued the necessary criteria for a good pain control among which includes appropriate training of health professionals and the availability of drugs for the treatment of pain. The attitude or behavior that neglects something or neglected something is called negligence. They might as well be called situations where there are enough means to perform analgesic therapy and yet it is not done. The reasons for this situation of therapeutic negligence include reluctance to prescribe opioids due to the fear of the undesirable effects of them, prescribing a lower analgesic doses, prescribing drugs at intervals of exceeding the recommended dosage or is demand patterns, delivery by nurses of less doses of the prescribed drug believing that they should not administer the treatment when the patient does not have pain and finally resignation of patients to suffer pain.

Keywords : Pain relief; Pain management; Human right.

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