Recommendations for headache service organisation and delivery in Europe

Abstract

Headache disorders are a major public-health priority, and there is pressing need for effective solutions to them. Better health care for headache—and ready access to it—are central to these solutions; therefore, the organisation of headache-related services within the health systems of Europe becomes an important focus. These recommendations are the result of collaboration between the European Headache Federation and Lifting The Burden: the Global Campaign against Headache. The process of development included wide consultation. To meet the very high level of need for headache care both effectively and efficiently, the recommendations formulate a basic three-level model of health-care organisation rationally spread across primary and secondary health-care sectors, taking account of the different skills and expertise in these sectors. They recognise that health services are differently structured in countries throughout Europe, and not always adequately resourced. Therefore, they aim to be adaptable to suit these differences. They are set out in five sections: needs assessment, description of the model, adaptation, standards and educational implications.

Integrated multidisciplinary care of headache disorders: A narrative review

“…These study results confirm the efficacy of this treatment program, especially regarding headache chronification due to medication overuse (12). Good study results for multimodal treatment approaches have also been shown by other groups in Germany and Denmark (53,54).…”

Headache service quality: evaluation of quality indicators in 14 specialist-care centres

“…While the need for better education of medical professionals has been authoritatively proclaimed as a prerequisite and high priority for improving headache care [22], adequacy of care in its broadest sense has not tended to engage social awareness. This must change: the concept of service quality needs to take centre-stage in headache care, and become the driver for both headache centres and health-care providers (HCPs) in primary care, who manage most patients with headache [14]. …”

Kopfschmerztherapie – Schmerztherapie

“…Dabei orientiert sich das Strukturpapier der DMKG mit den strukturellen Anforderungen, die jeweils an die Kopfschmerzeinrichtungen gestellt werden, an den Vorschlä-gen der European Headache Federation (EHF; [14]) und an den Kriterien, die von der Deutschen Schmerzgesellschaft zur Klassifikation schmerztherapeutischer Einrichtungen in Deutschland formuliert wurden [11]. Die therapeutischen Vorgaben sind dabei gut mit denen allgemeiner schmerztherapeutischer Zentren vergleichbar.…”