Evaluation of Primary Management of Headache Care in Latvia

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Description

The weight of the public-health problem associated with headaches lies not only in the lack of better education of medical professionals and the need for better drugs but also in the headache service delivery concept. Lifting The Burden (LTB) and European Headache Federation (EHF) has developed a set of headache service quality indicators. As the majority of headache patients should be treated in primary care, we assessed the quality of headache management currently in primary care in Latvia, identifying deficits and analyzing possible recommendations for improvement.. We included 5 primary-care clinics in Latvia, and interviewed 5 doctors, 2 nurses and 3 medical assistants, 5 service managers, and 157 patients, using the questionnaires developed by LTB and EHF. In addition, we evaluated 250 patients’ records. Inquiries were in nine domains: diagnosis, management, referral pathways, patient education and reassurance, convenience and comfort, patient satisfaction, the efficiency of headache care, outcome assessment, and safety.. During the evaluation process, we identified significant quality gaps in headache care:Histories of headaches were recorded and/or assessed insufficiently, the duration of prominent headache complaints was recorded in 20%, and headache frequency was mentioned only in 9% of records. 18% of patient records did not contain any diagnosis. No headache calendars were used nor Headache-related disability and quality of life were measured routinely. However, 75% of respondents found headache treatment good or very good.. Headache service quality indicators demonstrate the practical shortcomings of headache care in primary clinics. This study showed that patient satisfaction with headache care is not a good indicator of the quality of headache care.
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Related content