Migraine Disease Awareness Training: Empowering Peer Educators
Overview
Migraine is a complex neurologic disease characterized by episodic attacks. It affects over 1 billion people worldwide, causing significant disability and socioeconomic impact.
Also, it is the third most disabling disease in the world and the leading cause of years-lived with disability in people under the age of 50 years. Over 90% of sufferers are unable to function normally during an attack.
Chronic migraine affects approximately 2% of the global population, impacting work productivity and emergency department visits.
It often misunderstood or unrecognized, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment, with less than 50% of patients seeking medical consultation.
Centre for Initiative and Development (CFID) Taraba with support from Pfizer Independent Medical Educational grant is implementing a project, titled “Improving migraine disease awareness and access to diagnosis, treatment adherence and care among students, educators, parents and community members in Nigeria.” The Migraine educational project is implemented across 5 communities in 2 states in Nigeria, namely: Taraba: Sardauna, Wukari, Jalingo LGAs and Adamawa: Yola North and Mayo-belwa LGAs.
In achieving the project objectives, CFID conducted a comprehensive training program for peer educators across schools in Jalingo, Sardauna, Wukari, Mayo Belwa, and Yola North local government areas in Taraba and Adamawa states. The focus of this training was on Migraine disease awareness, treatment adherence, and self-care.
Training Highlights
- Participants: A total of 144 (112 students and 32 teachers) from 16 selected schools actively participated in the training.
- Migraine Identification: During the course of the training, Migraineurs were identified among both teachers and students.
- Peer Educators: The primary goal was to equip these participants with the knowledge and skills to become effective peer educators within their schools and communities.
- Discussion Topics:
- Migraine Symptoms
- Triggers
- Diagnosis
- Coping Strategies and Self-Care
- Behavior Change: The training sessions delved into peer education techniques, emphasizing empathy and understanding to improve behavior change related to migraine awareness.
Facilitators
The training was expertly facilitated by the Project Faculty team, including:
- Neurologists
- Consultant Family Physicians
- Pharmacists
- Psychologists
- CFID Project Coordinators
Impact
By empowering peer educators, the project aims to create a ripple effect of accurate information, empathy, and support for individuals living with migraines. Through these efforts, CFID hope to foster a more informed and supportive community.
Training in Wukari, Taraba state
