Levels and determinants of knowledge about chronic migraine diagnosis and management among primary health-care physicians in ministry of health, Jeddah 2019.

BACKGROUND

Chronic migraine (CM) poses a significant burden for patients, and it has multiple diagnostic and managemental challenges, particularly among primary health-care physicians (PCPs).

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to assess the levels of knowledge regarding CM diagnosis and management among PCPs and to explore the factors associated with poor knowledge.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among PCPs working at primary health-care centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A semi-structured questionnaire comprising 20 items related to CM diagnosis and treatment was used.

RESULTS

A total of 136 PCPs responded (aged 36.4 ± 8.1, 68.4% were females). The overall median (P75) knowledge score was 13.0 (15.0), and 45.6% of the participants had adequate knowledge (score > median). The majority of respondents (>50%) could not identify the lower limits of CM duration, the necessity of identifying at least eight migraine attacks in a month, the importance of managing medication overuse, and the indication of topiramate as the most efficacious agent in CM. Young physicians (23-35 years), bachelor graduates, general practitioners (GPs), and those having ≤5 years of experience scored lower than their peers. Physicians with 6-10 years of clinical experience were independently more knowledgeable than less-experienced PCPs (odds ratio = 5.09, P = 0.006).

CONCLUSION

Knowledge regarding CM diagnosis and treatment was inadequate among PCPs, which could detrimentally influence the patterns of referral to secondary health-care facilities. Given these observations, it is recommended to amend the academic curricula for medical students/GPs and adopt continuing medical education programs for PHPs to support their levels of knowledge.