Africa: Ouch! One in Seven Hospital Patients in Africa Suffers Severe Pain

Being admitted to hospital is supposed to bring relief. But for thousands of patients across Africa, hospital care comes with another burden: severe pain. A landmark study led by the University of Cape Town (UCT) found that two-thirds of adults admitted to hospitals across Africa experienced pain, while one in seven suffered severe pain. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Global Health Group in Perioperative and Critical Care.

A study of 19 438 patients in 180 hospitals across 22 African countries found that 67.9% of patients reported some level of pain, while 14.4% rated their worst pain during the previous 24 hours at seven or more out of 10 - the study's definition of severe pain.