title: Illness perception of migraineurs from the general population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to describe the cognitive representations of migraine through the migraineurs' discourse.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of subjects taken at random from a representative sample of the French general population is interviewed about their representations of migraine. A content analysis is performed using the ALCESTE software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The population is composed of 51 subjects. The analysis shows that throughout the corpus, the word 'migraine' does not appear spontaneously. It seems that migraine as a chronic disease that may require long-term treatment is not well understood; people have rather a 'successive crises' representation of illness. In reaction to the crises, it is surprising not to find any clue evoking the field of catastrophsising. However, the cognitive coping strategy of resignation is to be found. The favourite interlocutor to start therapeutic education of the patient is the doctor since subjects say that they do not expect anything of the kind from the media.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results allow us to understand better why migraineurs do not consult for their illness and do not follow recommendations concerning treatments utilisation. The results allow to propose interventions that include patient education taking into account patients' cognitive representations of their illness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Pain Clinic, CHU Pellegrin, Bordeaux, France. francoise.radat@chu-bordeaux.fr
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Radat
authors.forename: Michèle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koleck
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foucaud
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lantéri-Minet
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Massiou
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nachit-Ouinekh
authors.forename: Abdelkader
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El Hasnaoui
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D036301:Qualitative Research