Ukrainian Doctors Set to Reform Chronic Pain Care on Global Day Against Pain

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Global Day Against Pain approaches, Ukraine is joining the worldwide effort to address one of the most overlooked medical challenges: chronic pain.

Doctors United for Ukraine (DU4U), in partnership with Nova Ukraine and with the generous support of the Yale Office of International Affairs, launched a one-month observership at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and Yale New Haven Hospital to equip Ukrainian physicians with advanced knowledge in pain management and trauma care.

" Relieving pain is a fundamental duty of any doctor. Especially now, for Ukrainians with physical and mental trauma from the ongoing war, resulting in chronic impairments," says Andrey Zinchuk, Vice President of DU4U, Associate Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. "We are partnering with Ukrainian physicians to advance evidence-based chronic pain treatment there and to learn from them about innovations forged during this war that may help people in other conflicts."

"War in Ukraine caused a surge in complex trauma, amputations, and chronic pain syndromes among military and civilian populations. Chronic pain is an especially complex medical issue, affecting the daily lives of trauma survivors," said Oksana Gologorska, Vice President of Medical Projects at Nova Ukraine. "In Ukraine, this field is changing in response to unprecedented need, through updating care standards, training specialists, and modernizing facilities, however the current capacity does not match the level of patient needs. That is why supporting Ukrainian doctors in gaining international experience is absolutely critical. Our goal is to establish world class chronic pain treatment in Ukraine accessible to all."

Six physicians from across Ukraine, anesthesiologists and psychiatrists, are participating in the program. They bring with them extensive wartime experience treating pain, trauma, and psychological distress in both civilian and military patients. Over the course of October, they are engaging in clinical observation, interactive seminars, and interdisciplinary case discussions with Yale specialists in anesthesiology, psychiatry, addiction medicine, and rehabilitation.
Participants are gaining exposure to multimodal therapies, from pharmacology to advanced interventions such as regional anesthesia, cryoablation, and neurolysis, while contributing insights from Ukraine's frontline medical practice.

"As an anesthesiologist working with military patients, I see how chronic pain is never just physical, it reshapes mental health, families, and entire communities. At Yale, I want to learn new approaches while sharing personal experience in trauma care," said Maksym Tkachuk, anesthesiologist from Chernivtsi.

On this Global Day Against Pain, DU4U and Nova Ukraine call on the international community to recognize chronic pain as a critical public health priority – and to join efforts to ensure that no patient, in Ukraine or worldwide, suffers in silence.

Media Contact:
Igor Markov
424 332 8999
[email protected]

SOURCE Nova Ukraine