Table 3 Multidimensional Nature of Pain: percentage of participants in panel 1 and 2 in favor of including the item, and median Dublin Descriptor

1. Pain as a public health problem with social, ethical, legal and economic consequences.

2. Epidemiology with overview of statistics related to acute, recurrent and/or persistent (chronic) and cancer pain.

3. Barriers to effective pain assessment and management.

1. Historical development of pain theories and basis for current understanding of pain.

2. Definition of pain and pain terms.

3. Classification systems of pain.

4. Differences between nociception, pain, suffering and harm.

5. Pain and behavior.

1. Anatomy and physiology to include neural mechanisms.

2. Multiple dimensions of pain.

3. Pathological consequences of unrelieved pain, and implications of being a multidimensional experience.

4. Factors influencing neurophysiology.

excluded

1. Ethical standards of care (provision of measures to minimize pain and suffering) for health care professionals.

2. Ethical standards and guidelines related to use of analgesics.

excluded

3. Inadequate pain management for specific groups.

excluded

4.Legal issues related to disability, compensation

excluded

5. Political and societal issues related to access to pain management and attitudes to marginalized populations.

excluded

6. Experimental pain issues related to appropriate and meaningful measures and methods.

excluded