Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Feb;55(511):87-93.

A qualitative study of migraine involving patient researchers

Judith Belam  1 , Gill Harris, David Kernick, Frances Kline, Krissy Lindley, Jayne McWatt, Annie Mitchell, Debbie Reinhold
Affiliations

A qualitative study of migraine involving patient researchers

Judith Belam et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2005 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Migraine is poorly managed in primary care despite a high level of morbidity. The majority of sufferers use non-prescription medications and are reluctant to seek help but the reasons for this are not understood.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a research partnership between migraine sufferers and healthcare professionals to synthesise tacit and explicit knowledge in the area. Building upon this partnership, a further aim was to explore what it is to suffer with migraine from patients' perspectives in order to inform health service delivery.

Design: Qualitative interview study involving healthcare professionals and patient researchers.

Setting: A purposeful sample of eight migraine sufferers who had attended a local intermediate care headache clinic.

Method: A consensual qualitative approach.

Results: Migraine had a high and unrecognised impact on quality of life. 'Handling the beast' was a central metaphor that resonated with the experience of all sufferers who sought to control their problem in different ways. Three major themes were identified: making sense of their problem; actively doing something about it either through self-help or professional advice; being resigned to it.

Conclusion: Despite a significant impact on the quality of life of migraine sufferers and their families, their needs remain largely unmet. Useful insights can be obtained when patients and professionals work together in true partnership but the time and effort involved should not be underestimated. Further research is needed to identify why there are major deficiencies in delivering care in this common problem.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Main themes for migraine suffers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Steiner T, Scher A, Stewart F, et al. The prevalence and disability burden of adult migraine in England and their relationships to age, gender and ethnicity. Cephalalgia. 2003;23(7):519–527. - PubMed
    1. Stewart A, Greenfield S, Hays R, et al. Functional status and wellbeing of patients with chronic conditions. Results from the medical outcomes study. JAMA. 1989;262:907–913. - PubMed
    1. Terwindt G, Ferrari M, Tijhus M, et al. The impact of migraine on quality of life in the general population. The GEM study. Neurology. 2000;55:624–629. - PubMed
    1. Dowson A, Jagger S. The UK migraine patient survey: quality of life and treatment. Curr Med Res Opin. 1999;15(4):241–253. - PubMed
    1. Lipton R, Bigal M, Kolodner K, et al. The family impact of migraine: population-based studies in the US and UK. Cephalalgia. 2003;23(6):429–440. - PubMed

Publication types