Prevalence of headaches in individuals referred from primary care to secondary care

Joismar Manuel  Rodrigues; Vanessa Vilela  Caires; Kátia Beatriz Costa  Fontoura; Teresa Cristina Santos  Silva; Simone Fonseca  Goulart; Cláudia Marcucci  Rocha; Antônio Lúcio  Teixeira; Ariovaldo Alberto da  Silva Junior

doi:10.48208/HeadacheMed.2011.29

Authors

Joismar Manuel Rodrigues Universidade José do Rosário Vellano
Vanessa Vilela Caires Universidade José do Rosário Vellano
Kátia Beatriz Costa Fontoura Universidade José do Rosário Vellano
Teresa Cristina Santos Silva Universidade José do Rosário Vellano
Simone Fonseca Goulart Universidade José do Rosário Vellano
Cláudia Marcucci Rocha Universidade José do Rosário Vellano
Antônio Lúcio Teixeira Faculdade de Ciências Médicas
Ariovaldo Alberto da Silva Junior Universidade José do Rosário Vellano

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48208/HeadacheMed.2011.29

Keywords:

Headache, Primary health care, Secondary health care

Abstract

Background: Improve the quality of public health is a growing necessity today. Identifying reasons for medical referral (from general to specialized care) is a prelude for developing educational initiatives that have this goal. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of headaches as a cause of referral from the primary to the secondary level of public medical care. Methods: First-time referrals from four primary care units to neurology care were assessed. Results: Sample consisted of 587 individuals referred to neurology consultation. Headache was the cause of referral in 31.2% of the individuals; 79.2% of the headache cases were in women. Rates for other diseases were lower and are presented for benchmarking. Conclusion: Headache represented an important cause of demand for neurological care. Education initiatives on principles of headache management are necessary and may translate into decreased referral rates to neurologists.