International Association for the Study of Pain

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) is an international learned society promoting research, education, and policies for the knowledge and management of pain. The IASP was founded in 1973 under the leadership of John Bonica. Its secretariat, formerly based in Seattle, Washington is now located in Washington, DC. It publishes the scientific journal Pain. IASP currently has more than 7,900 members from 133 countries and in 90 chapters.

The IASP definition of pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage" is derived from a 1964 definition by Harold Merskey, and it was first published in 1979 by IASP in Pain, number 6, page 250.

In 2004, supported by various IASP chapters and federations holding their own local events and activities worldwide, IASP initiated its first "Global Year Against Pain" with the motto "The Relief of Pain Should be a Human Right." Every year, the focus is on another aspect of pain.