title: Self-management of headache: a cross-sectional survey in the General Public of Islamabad.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify the frequency of self-management for headache by adult population aged >18 years in urban and rural Islamabad.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study using systematic sampling of households was conducted in I-8 sector of Islamabad and its outskirts (in Nurpur Shahan) from March to September 2011. It comprised 248 individuals above 18 years of age who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the total, 136 (54.8%) were males and 112 (45.2%) were females. The overall mean age was 32 +/- 12.5 years, and 218 (87.9%) suffered from headache. Out of those suffering from headaches, 178 (81.7%) employed self-management. Pharmaceutical drugs (n = 155; 87.1%) were the commonest modality employed, while vitamins (n = 6; 3.4%), massage (n = 8; 4.5%), herbal remedies (n = 4; 2.2%) and homeopathic medicines (n = 5; 2.8%) were infrequently utilised. Acetaminophen (panadol) was the commonest pharmaceutical drug used (n = 91; 58.7%), followed by salicylic acid (aspirin) (n = 46; 29.7%). Self-management was slightly more frequent among males (n = 95; 53.37%) and in the above-matriculation group (n = 103; 57.8%). A total of 151 (84.7%) people claimed to be satisfied with their self-management.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-management of headaches is highly prevalent among the general public. The majority opts for pharmaceutical drugs, mostly preferring acetaminophen. Most are satisfied with their self-management.
authors.affiliation: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan. ghumman.medicine@gmail.com
authors.forename: Saad Sultan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ghumman
authors.affiliation: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nadeem
authors.forename: Anem Javed
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Nawaz
authors.affiliation: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Umer
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Azeem
authors.affiliation: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Zarak Hassan
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Mohsin
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mazhar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D012648:Self Care