VOA慢速英语--Researchers Shocked at 'Pain Gap' Between Rich and Poor

 

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

A new study on pain management around the world has shocked researchers.

The study found that many people in poor and middle-income countries suffer unimaginable pain without any help. They lack even the cheapest painkillers¹ to manage severe pain.

The results of this study has led to action. Researchers now want to find ways to help the millions of people who suffer needlessly².

Felicia Knaul is one of the researchers involved in the study. She is a professor at the University of Miami’s School of Medicine. She says that around 61 million people worldwide live and some die in great pain because of a lack of pain medicine and proper care.

Knaul says she became interested in global pain management after her own surgery for breast cancer.

"I woke up from a mastectomy and I remember the horror of the pain, of not being able to breathe. And yet, I got access almost immediately to pain relief, which allowed me to push through it much more easily."

She says that when she realized how inexpensive it could be to help people suffering in pain, she felt the need to act.

"When I thought about other women going through this, when I thought about children, burn victims and having their wounds dressed and cleaned, and the agony of that without pain relief, and then when I found out how inexpensive it is to solve this problem, a real win-win in global health --- that was when we really decided³ to move forward."

Knaul led the international study on pain relief published in The Lancet. She explains that the researchers looked at worldwide access to a common pain medication, morphine.

"We looked across the world using, as a tracer, access to morphine. And more than 100 countries could satisfy less than 30 percent of need for pain relief just for palliative care alone. And, in fact, the vast majority have almost nothing."

In the United States, morphine costs three cents per dose. In low-income countries, it costs five times as much. However, it is usually not available.

If the cost of morphine were the same for all countries, the study found that it would cost $145 million to make pain relief available for all.

Developing countries can work to close -- what researchers are calling -- the “pain gap.” Uganda is one example. Its government makes and distributes morphine for the country's hospitals. Doctors are trained in giving the drug and patients are monitored.

Knaul has asked the World Bank to help end the pain gap. Experts are still developing plans. But the goal is clear: to provide pain relief for the millions of people who truly need it.

And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report. I’m Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

palliate – v. to moderate the intensity⁴ of : palliative – adj.

mastectomy – medical n. : surgical⁵ removal of all or part of the breast and sometimes associated lymph nodes and muscles

horror – v. the quality of something that causes feelings of fear, dread⁶, and shock : the horrible or shocking quality or character of something

agony – v. extreme mental or physical pain

tracer – medical n. : a substance that is put in a patient's body so that doctors can watch a biological process (such as digestion) or see how a condition (such as cancer) is progressing

access – n. freedom or ability to obtain or make use of something

vast – adj. very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially in extent or range

dose – n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time

distribute – v. to give out or deliver especially to members of a group

1 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

2 needlessly   

adv.不需要地，不必要地

参考例句：

• Thousands of children in the world today suffer needlessly. 当今世界有成千上万的儿童遭受着不必要的痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Yet they were built on stilts, quite needlessly. 半山上也用吊脚楼形式，这形式是必须的吗？ 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

6 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。