BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SCR 129
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 21, 2014

                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
                              Richard S. Gordon, Chair
                     SCR 129 (Liu) - As Amended:  August 11, 2014

           SENATE VOTE  :   34-0
           
          SUBJECT  :   Pain Awareness Month and Women In Pain Awareness Day.

           SUMMARY  :   Recognize September 2014 as Pain Awareness Month and  
          call upon all Californians to observe that month by learning how  
          to improve the quality of life of Californians suffering from  
          pain; and this resolution also recognizes September 12, 2014, as  
          Women In Pain Awareness Day to draw public attention to gender  
          disparity in pain assessment and treatment in the United States.  
           Specifically,  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.

          2.Though medical knowledge and technology exist to relieve or  
            greatly ease pain, most pain is untreated, undertreated, or  
            improperly treated, and many health care professionals are  
            still unaware of how to effectively treat pain.

          3.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  
            women respond differently to certain analgesics.

          4.Women more frequently report pain to a health care provider,  
            but are more likely to have their pain reports discounted as  
            emotional or psychogenic and, therefore, not real.

          5.The California-based Partners for Understanding Pain is a  
            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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None








                                                                  SCR 129
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           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          None on file
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800