| Abstract [eng] |
Introduction: Headaches are a common reason for requested pharmacist assistance and reduce patient quality of life. Aim: To evaluate patients at community pharmacies (CP) for their headache characteristics and attitudes towards pharmacist drug consultations. Objectives: To evaluate: 1) the rate, socio-demographic characteristics, and association with subjective attitudes towards managing patient’s attending CP, headache; 2) patients’ attending CP attitude towards pharmacists' headache counseling; 3) headache alleviation methods by patients attending CP, and their insight of the headache impact on their daily activities and their mental health, and the association with sociodemographic characteristics; 4) and the subjective opinion on headache and quality of life, well-being, health of patients attending CP. Methods: Cross-sectional study. 3-part questionnaire survey, with questions on socio-demographic data, history of headache, and subjective attitudes towards pharmacist consultations. MIDAS questionnaire and SF-36 questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA, Chi-square, and Tukey's (HSD) tests, with statistical significance at p<0.05 level. Results: 130 patients were evaluated: N=96 (73.85%) women, N=34 (26.15%) men. Mean age 49.5 years. N=19 (14.84%) diagnosed with migraine: N=17 women, N=2 men. The mean headache intensity score was 4.62/10. Mean number of headache days was 9.3 days/3 months. N=63 (48.46%) belonged to I MIDAS gr., N=29 (22.31%) to II MIDAS and the rest to III and IV gr. Those with more severe migraine were more likely to report nausea (p=0.048) and vomiting (p=0.005) and to use cold compresses (p=0.008). N=92 (70.77%) relieved headaches with over the counter (OTC) medication. N=110 (86.61%) trusted the pharmacist provided information. N=78 (69.03%) was satisfied with the pharmacist's headache advice. A more severe MIDAS group was associated with lower physical activity (p<0.001), activity limitation due to physical activity (p=0.001), perception of pain and vigor (p=0.01), social function (p<0.001), activity limitation due to physical impairment (p<0.001), emotional state (p=0.012) and mental health (p<0.001). Conclusions: 1) Women experienced headaches more often than men (3:1). Average headache intensity was almost 5/10. 2) 9/10 had a positive perception towards pharmacist consultation. Over 80% of the respondents trusted the pharmacists’ information and almost 7/10 respondents found the headache consultations satisfactory. 3) Patients with severe migraine more often reported nausea, vomiting, and used cold compresses. Patients were most likely to choose OTC headache medications. Half belonged to MIDAS I, less than ¼ to MIDAS II, and the rest to MIDAS III and IV. 4) Physical activity, physical health, social function, and emotional and mental state deteriorated with worsening migraine. |
