BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                            



           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SCR 18|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
                                           
                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SCR 18
          Author:   Liu (D)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SUBJECT  :    Pain Awareness Month and Women In Pain Awareness Day

           SOURCE  :     For Grace


           DIGEST  :    This resolution recognizes September 2013 as Pain  
          Awareness Month and calls upon all Californians to observe that  
          month by learning how to improve the quality of life of  
          Californians suffering from pain.  This resolution also  
          recognizes September 13, 2013, as Women In Pain Awareness Day to  
          draw public attention to gender disparity in pain assessment and  
          treatment in the United States.

           ANALYSIS  :    This resolution makes the following legislative  
          findings:

           1. More than 100 million Americans live with chronic pain  
             caused by various diseases or disorders, and, each year,  
             nearly 25 million Americans suffer with acute pain, and often  
             are stigmatized and marginalized and often are not informed  
             about the right to effective pain assessment and management,  
             and most people with pain, including those at the end of  
             life, get little or no relief.

           2. Women have a higher prevalence than men of chronic pain  
             syndromes and diseases associated with chronic pain, such as  
             fibromyalgia, complex pain syndrome, and osteoarthritis, and  
                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     SCR 18
                                                                     Page  
          2

             women respond differently to certain analgesics, and have  
             developed a number of coping mechanisms to deal with pain,  
             and this may contribute to a general perception that they can  
             endure more pain and that their pain does not need to be  
             taken as seriously.

           3. The California-based Partners for Understanding Pain is a  
             growing coalition of pain sufferers, physicians, nurses,  
             social workers, pharmacists, therapists, civic leaders,  
             nonprofit organizations, and health care businesses whose  
             mission is to improve the quality of life for people in  
             California experiencing pain, and it is the collective  
             mission of this movement to provide practical information for  
             people with pain, inform health care professionals about pain  
             management, and serve as an advocate for people experiencing  
             pain.

          This resolution recognizes September 2013 as Pain Awareness  
          Month and calls upon all Californians to observe that month by  
          learning how to improve the quality of life of Californians  
          suffering from pain.  This resolution also recognizes September  
          13, 2013, as Women In Pain Awareness Day to draw public  
          attention to gender disparity in pain assessment and treatment  
          in the United States.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  3/12/13)

          For Grace (source)



          AB:k  3/13/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                   ****  END  ****