Awareness of headache and of National Headache Society activities among primary care physicians - a qualitative study

Gantenbein, Andreas R.; Jäggi, Christian; Sturzenegger, Matthias; Gobbi, Claudio; Merki-Feld, Gabriele S.; Emmenegger, Mark J; Taub, Ethan; Sándor, Peter S. (2013). Awareness of headache and of National Headache Society activities among primary care physicians - a qualitative study. BMC research notes, 6, p. 118. Biomed Central 10.1186/1756-0500-6-118

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BACKGROUND

Headache is one of the most common symptoms in primary care. To improve the quality of headache diagnosis and management with the largest possible benefit for the general population, headache and pain societies around the world have recently been devoting more attention to headache in primary care.The aim of the study was to investigate the potential contribution that national societies can make toward raising the awareness of primary headaches in general practice.

FINDINGS

In a qualitative telephone survey, targeting primary care practices (PCP), we asked about the frequency of headache patients in their practices and inquired about their treatment and referral strategies.A total of 1000 telephone interviews with PCP have been conducted. Three-hundred and fifty physicians have been directly interviewed, 95% of them see headache patients every week, 23% daily. Direct MRI referral is done by 84%. Sixty-two per cent of the physicians knew the Swiss headache society, 73% were interested in further education about headaches.

CONCLUSION

The survey yielded information about the physicians' awareness of the Swiss Headache Society and its activities, and about their desire for continuing education in the area of headache. National headache societies should work to improve the cooperation between headache specialists and PCP, aiming for a better care for our patients with headache.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Head Organs and Neurology (DKNS) > Clinic of Neurology

UniBE Contributor:

Sturzenegger, Matthias

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1756-0500

Publisher:

Biomed Central

Language:

English

Submitter:

Valentina Rossetti

Date Deposited:

13 Jun 2014 12:06

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:35

Publisher DOI:

10.1186/1756-0500-6-118

PubMed ID:

23531195

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.53557

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/53557

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