Supports for Chronic Pain
The Chronic Pain Toolkit is for anyone living with chronic pain and for their caregivers.
The resources in this Toolkit combine knowledge from Traditional Anishinaabe and Western medicine with stories from GCT#3 community members about living well when you have chronic pain.
Chi miigwetch to all the GCT#3 community members and healthcare providers who participated in COPING Well sharing circles and interviews, provided feedback on the resources, and welcomed the project teams during community visits.
You can read the resources online, download them, or print them.
Chronic Pain Toolkit: Living Well with Chronic Pain
The Chronic Pain Toolkit has three chapters:
- What is Chronic Pain
- Managing Chronic Pain
- Medical Care for Chronic Pain
Chapter 1
- Why pain happens
- What makes pain worse
- The connection between pain, and past experiences, and mental health
Chapter 2
- Helpful actions to help manage pain
- Stories from GCT#3 community members living with chronic pain
- Information on setting pain management goals
Chapter 3
- Questions you can ask your healthcare provider
- Important information for you to share with your healthcare provider
- Information about pain medications
Toolkit Printouts
Here are useful summary printouts of ways to manage pain and to help you get the most from visits with healthcare providers.
- Actions to Manage Chronic Pain (2 pages)
- Pain Stories (3 pages)
- Setting Goals (3 pages)
- Your Rights (3 pages)
- Tips for Speaking with your Healthcare Provider (1 page)
- Questions to ask about pain medication (1 page)
Here are one-page brochures that summarize the key information in each part of the Toolkit. These are handy for healthcare providers to share with patients. Click on each title to download the brochure.
Other Resources
Information about Opioids and Pain Medication
Traditional Food Guide
The Chronic Pain Toolkit was sponsored by Health Canada and created in partnership between:
- Grand Council Treaty 3 Health Transformation team
- Transitional Pain Service at the University Health Network
- Ganawishkadawe – the Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health at Women’s College Hospital.
