Pain and palliative care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Asia.

Millions of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in Asia need access to palliative care as part of a comprehensive response to their support needs. There are many causes of pain in HIV/AIDS, and its prevalence is as high if not higher than in cancer, but it is frequently undertreated. Access to adequate pain relief and palliative care is impeded by the barriers which face PLHA in Asia. These include few care and support services, lack of recognition and acknowledgement of pain in HIV/AIDS by health care professionals, widespread stigma and discrimination especially towards vulnerable groups such as injecting drug users, government regulatory mechanisms which make access to opioids even more difficult for the care services which have developed and a lack of understanding of or advocacy for pain relief and palliative care in the literature on HIV/AIDS care and support. During the growth of palliative care in Asia, there is opportunity for advocates of palliative care and care for PLHA to collaborate to influence national policy.