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Impact of a Nurse for Migraine Management: the IMPACT Project

NCT01804517 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 200

Last updated 2016-12-08

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Headache disorders are prevalent, disabling, under recognized, under diagnosed and under treated. Migraine has a prevalence of 10% in men and 25% in women in Canada. The treatment of migraine is based on patient education (lifestyle habit modification, trigger avoidance), and pharmacological acute treatment and prophylaxis. A multidisciplinary approach allows a repartition of tasks between different health professionals.

In a 2010 meeting, the Canadian Headache Society members supported the concept of Headache Centers, and a headache nurse was judged as an essential component of such centers.

Gaul has reviewed the structured multidisciplinary approach that could be used in a headache centre and the existing studies using such structures. Five studies did include a headache nurse. No study did observe the impact of a nurse only. Resources in medical care are limited. One study did use a program of 96 hours, which does not seem realistic on the long-term and for a large pool of patients in a public hospital. Patients are not always able to pay for paramedical help such as physiotherapy and psychotherapy. Even if they do, finding a specialized therapist for chronic headache is difficult. Defining the role of a nurse and demonstrating the impact on patient care is therefore a first step in the concept of a headache center. Possible roles of a headache nurse according to Gaul are patient education, follow-up of the treatment plan, addressing patient queries, and monitoring of patient progress. The headache nurse may also participate in research projects. In a hospital Headache Clinic, the nurse may be involved in intra-venous treatments and blood sampling for research.

In summary, evidence to demonstrate the impact of a nurse in a headache clinic is lacking. We propose to study this aspect prospectively. A study with positive findings would encourage health ministers to fund and support headache nurses for headache centers across Canada for headache management. Chronic headache and therefore chronic migraine would be a focus of such centers, since most patients seen in specialized centers are chronic.

HYPOTHESIS: The addition of a headache nurse to the headache team will help the CHUM Migraine Clinic to improve treatment outcome, and reduce the burden of headache. This multidisciplinary approach will also allow a higher efficiency of the team.

Conditions

  • Migraine Without Aura
  • Migraine With Aura
  • Chronic Migraine

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Allergan

    collaborator INDUSTRY

  • Notre-Dame Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Elizabeth Leroux, M.D. · FRCPC

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-02-28
Primary Completion
2015-11-30
Completion
2015-11-30

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01804517 on ClinicalTrials.gov