North Wales MS supports children and young people for Migraine Awareness Week
Flinthshire-based North Wales MS Mark Isherwood is supporting Migraine Awareness Week (4-10 September) to call attention to the serious impact that migraine has on the education and wellbeing of children and young people living with it.
Migraine is a common, painful and debilitating condition that affects one in ten children in the UK.
While migraine has a significant impact on the lives of adults who live with it, its early impact on children and young can be even more severe.
New research by The Migraine Trust has found that children often feel left out of their own healthcare and think that their care is poor.
It also suggests migraine can limit their ability to take part in education, social activities, and other important parts of growing up.
90% of affected young people report migraine made it harder to do their schoolwork, while 76% of education professionals surveyed felt their school did not provide information, resources and processes to help these children.
It can also be hard for children to understand and explain their pain, and there are fewer treatment options for them than there are for adults.
The Migraine Trust report calls for clearer guidance and training for both health and education professionals on understanding and supporting young people impacted by migraine, as well as more resources for the parents/carers of children living with it.
They suggest young people themselves need more information about their condition and how to take control of their own care, and that pathways and reviews of local migraine care in the NHS should account for the impact on children and young people.
The Migraine Trust has also launched a new section on its website to give information and support for children and young people with migraine, their parents, carers, teachers and doctors, accessible at: migrainetrust.org/migraine-in-
Mr Isherwood, who last month met with the Migraine Trust to discuss the report, said:
“For this year’s Migraine Awareness Week, I’m standing with the one in ten children and young people in the UK who are living with migraine. Too often they report not feeling understood in school, in the NHS or even at home, disrupting their schoolwork and quality of life. This is why we need more tools to support them and equip the adults around them to help.”
Rob Music, Chief Executive of The Migraine Trust, said:
“This research lifts the lid on the severe impact migraine has on young people living with migraine, particularly in school, and highlights an urgent need for improved guidance, information and support for them, their families, and health and education professionals. We need to see a major and wide-ranging culture change that enables children and young people to talk about their migraine, be understood and be supported by both the health system and their schools.”
Dr Prab Prabhakar, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist and Clinical Lead at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said:
“The research by The Migraine Trust a shines light on the hidden disability that migraine has on children and young people. There is a huge amount of work to be done so that children receive timely migraine diagnosis, followed by a Migraine Management Plan incorporating a holistic, multi-disciplinary, approach incorporating physical, emotional and psychological health and education. Such an approach is key in achieving the best education and health outcomes in this group of patients. With advances in treatment, there is a now a need to move at pace at the national level to empower children, young people and their families to receive a standard level of care across the nations that is fit for now and the future.”
Some key findings of the report include:
-Schools don’t have the knowledge, or policies in place to help children with migraine
-A survey of parents/carers with a child living with migraine, found that 70% were concerned about the impact of migraine on their child’s education.
-Asked how often their child had to stay home from school because of their migraine, over half (51%) said at least once a month. 85% of parents/carers had spoken to their child’s school about their migraine, but only 17% were completely satisfied with the support from the school in managing their migraine.
-A survey of children with migraine found that 90% said their migraine made it harder to do their schoolwork. However, when asked if they think that their school has the information about migraine to help them manage it at school, 64% said no. When asked if they have ever been taught about migraine at school, 97% said that they hadn’t.
-A survey of 64 education professionals found that three quarters (76%) felt that their school did not have the information, resources and processes to help children in school with migraine. For example, school policies are often not geared towards helping children manage their migraine triggers and avoid being unnecessarily sent home. This compares to other common long-term conditions such as asthma where schools often have plans in place for.
Children don’t feel that they are getting the healthcare they need
