Patient perceptions of barriers to effective migraine management in Aotearoa New Zealand

Blair McInnarney; Fiona Imlach; Jonathan Kennedy; Susan M. Garrett

doi:10.1071/HC24020

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Patient perceptions of barriers to effective migraine management in Aotearoa New Zealand

Blair McInnarney ¹ , Fiona Imlach

² ³ , Jonathan Kennedy

¹ , Susan M. Garrett

¹ ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

¹ Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, University of Otago, Wellington, Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara, PO Box 7343, Wellington 6242, New Zealand.

² Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington 6242, New Zealand.

³ Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand.

^* Correspondence to: sue.garrett@otago.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Felicity Goodyear-Smith

Journal of Primary Health Care https://doi.org/10.1071/HC24020

Submitted: 16 February 2024 Accepted: 23 April 2024 Published: 9 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Introduction

Migraine is a complex neurological condition which requires evidence based treatment, tailored to the individual. International evidence shows that treatment is often sub-optimal, but the experience of people with migraine in NZ is unknown.

Aim

This study aimed to describe the barriers people with migraine disease face when seeking care for their condition in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).

Methods

The Migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand Survey (MiANZ) was delivered online via SurveyMonkey from 22 August 2022 to 7 October 2022. Questions included: sociodemographics, the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS), ability to access health care, perception of health professionals’ knowledge and open-ended questions. Analysis used a mixed method approach.

Results

Five hundred and thirty people from NZ responded, of whom 82% (433/530) were female and 77% (409/530) NZ European/other. Eighty-eight percent (467/530) had accessed primary care for migraine, with 36% (167/467) finding GPs’ knowledge of migraine to be excellent or very good. Forty-two percent (222/530) reported at least one instance where they had felt judged because of migraine by a health professional. Themes from free-text data included patient perception of health professionals’ knowledge of migraine, the presence of stigma within medical practice and systemic barriers to accessing effective health care.

Discussion

People with migraine in NZ report significant barriers when trying to access effective management. Barriers were in both primary and secondary care and impacted the ability of people with migraine to manage their condition. More current migraine continuing medical education for GPs and other health professionals, better development and communication of care plans between primary and secondary care and patients and measures to address stigma are required to improve management of this complex disease.

Keywords: access to primary care, migraine disorders, neurological condition, New Zealand, online survey, patient experience, primary headache disorders, primary health care.

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