Implementation of effective, self-sustaining headache services in the Republic of Georgia: Evaluation of their impact on headache-related disability and quality of life of people with headache.

Background Headache disorders are widespread and disabling. They are common in Georgia, especially headache on ≥15 days/month (HA ≥ 15), but there are no headache services. Objective We established headache services meeting local needs, investigating feasibility, consumer uptake and satisfaction, and cost, with an exit strategy bequeathing effective, self-sustaining services that could be rolled out nationwide. Methods We created headache centres in Tbilisi and Gori offering free expert care for three visits over three months, and affordable medication thereafter. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of patients using the service beyond the free period - a measure of both satisfaction and sustainability. Results Of 1,445 patients (age 43.7 ± 12.4 years; 10.5% male), 49.8% had episodic migraine, 22.5% episodic tension-type headache, 25.7% HA ≥ 15 (24.5% overusing medication) and 2.0% trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias. Only 454 (31.4%) and 51 (3.5%) returned for second and third visits; in these, headache improved and treatment costs decreased. As information about the service spread, five other headache clinics opened in Tbilisi and Kutaisi (western Georgia). Pharmaceutical companies reduced prices (sumatriptan 100 mg from US$7 to US$1). Conclusion The study failed to achieve its primary outcome, but sustainable headache services operating to international standards were successfully implemented nonetheless, with demand increasing.

Will (or can) people pay for headache care in a poor country?

We asked whether attempts to introduce headache services in poor countries would be futile on grounds of cost and unsustainability. Using data from a population-based survey in the Republic of Georgia, an exemplary poor country with limited health care, and against the background of headache-attributed burden, we report on willingness to pay (WTP) for effective headache treatment. Consecutive households were visited in areas of Tbilisi (urban) and Kakheti (rural), together representative of Georgian habitation. Biologically unrelated adults were interviewed by medical residents using a structured ICHD-II-based diagnostic questionnaire, the MIDAS questionnaire and SF-36. The bidding-game method was employed to assess WTP. Of 1,145 respondents, 50.0% had episodic headache (migraine and/or tension-type headache) and 7.6% had headache on ≥15 days/month, which was not further diagnosed. MIDAS scores were higher in people with headache on ≥15 days/month (mean 11.2) than in those with episodic headache (mean 7.0; P = 0.004). People with headache had worse scores in all SF-36 sub-scales than those without, but no differences were found between headache types. Almost all (93%) respondents with headache reported WTP averaging USD 8 per month for effective headache treatment. WTP did not correlate with headache type or frequency, or with MIDAS or SF-36 scores. Headache is common and headache-attributed burden is high in Georgia, with a profound impact on HRQoL. Even those less affected indicated WTP for effective treatment, if it were available, that would on average cover costs, which locally are low. Headache services in a poor country are potentially sustainable.

Validation of a Georgian language headache questionnaire in a population-based sample.

In a pilot phase of a survey of the prevalence of primary headache disorders in the Republic of Georgia, we validated a Georgian language questionnaire for migraine (MIG), tension-type headache (TTH), MIG+TTH and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TAC). A population-based sample of 186 people with headache completed the questionnaire and were blindly examined by one of two headache experts. The questionnaire diagnoses were: MIG 49, TTH 76, MIG+TTH 45 and TAC 16. The physicians' diagnoses were: MIG 59, TTH 77, MIG+TTH 34, TAC 2 and "symptomatic headache" in 14 subjects. Sensitivity and specificity for MIG were 0.75 and 0.96, for TTH 0.79 and 0.86, and for MIG+TTH 0.61 and 0.84 respectively. Of 16 TAC diagnoses, the physicians confirmed cluster headache in two patients only. The questionnaire can be utilised to investigate the prevalence of MIG and of TTH. It offers preliminary screening only for TAC, which should be confirmed during a face to face examination.

A pilot methodological validation study for a population-based survey of the prevalences of migraine, tension-type headache and chronic daily headache in the country of Georgia.

We report the methodology of an epidemiological survey of the prevalences of migraine, tension-type headache and chronic daily headache in Georgia. Medical residents visited adjacent households in Tbilisi to interview a pre-defined target of 100 biologically unrelated subjects. All respondents reporting headache in the previous year, as well as random 20 non-headache controls, were examined by a neurologist. The response rate was 70%. Of 156 respondents, 93 were biologically unrelated and 45 (48%) reported headache in the previous year. Eight subjects fulfilled all IHS criteria for migraine (1-year prevalence 8.6% [95% CI: 2.9-14.3%]), and 13 had probable migraine, meeting all but the criterion for duration. Nineteen had tension-type headache (20.4% [95% CI: 12.2-28.6%]) and five had chronic daily headache (5.4% [95% CI: 1-10.0%]). In comparisons of diagnoses by questionnaire and neurologist (considered the gold standard), sensitivities for the questionnaire of 89% for migraine and 67% for tension-type headache were calculated (overall kappa=0.74).