Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42401888›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2026

Headache education in medical schools in Türkiye: the perspective of final-year medical students.

Burcu Polat, Eren Toplutaş, Halime Şahan Ilgaz, Serpil Bulut, Pınar Yalınay Dikmen, Ömer Karadaş, Aynur Özge

Abstract read
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Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Burcu PolatNP Istanbul Brain Hospital, Department of Neurology, Istanbul, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4104-8508
Eren Toplutaş *Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6365-7702
Halime Şahan Ilgaz *Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Düzce University, Düzce, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4329-7011
Serpil Bulut *Department of Neurology, Şişli Etfal Training and Researh Hospital, Health Sciences University, Istanbul, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0395-3299
Pınar Yalınay Dikmen *Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, ACIBADEM UNIVERSITY, Istanbul, Türkiye. pinar.yalinay@acibadem.edu.tr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7112-2142
Ömer Karadaş *Department of Neurology, Gülhane Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences University, Ankara, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0457-3722
Aynur Özge *Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2797-2398

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealthcare professionals' knowledge and training are important contributors to adequate medical care for headache disorders. Since most headaches are treated in primary care, undergraduate medical education represents an important stage for strengthening headache-related knowledge and clinical preparedness. This study aimed to evaluate headache education among final-year medical students in Türkiye.

methodsThis cross-sectional, web-based survey study was conducted among final-year medical students from ten medical faculties in Türkiye between June and December 2022. A 32-item questionnaire developed by the authors was used to assess headache-related educational exposure, self-reported preparedness, and theoretical knowledge. Thirteen knowledge-based questions were used to calculate the total knowledge score. Descriptive statistics, group comparisons, and Spearman correlation analysis were performed.

resultsA total of 523 final-year medical students participated. The mean knowledge score was 9.14 ± 1.87 out of 13. Although 94.8% reported receiving headache education, only 46.5% had received outpatient clinic-based training, 11.7% had attended a headache subspecialty clinic, and 9.6% were familiar with the national headache guideline. Participants who had received didactic headache education scored higher than those who had not (9.18 vs. 8.37; mean difference 0.81, 95% CI 0.09 to 1.54; p = 0.019), as did those who had received outpatient clinic-based training (9.38 vs. 8.93; mean difference 0.45, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.77; p = 0.009) and those who had received structured instruction on headache history-taking (9.30 vs. 8.58; mean difference 0.72, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.11; p = 0.001). Higher total headache-related lesson time was weakly but significantly correlated with higher knowledge scores (Spearman's rho = 0.12, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.21; p = 0.005). Most participants reported feeling insufficiently prepared to treat pregnant women with migraine, as well as pediatric and geriatric patients with migraine.

conclusionsThe findings suggest that undergraduate headache education in Türkiye may benefit from further curricular strengthening, particularly through structured teaching, clinical exposure, and improved familiarity with headache management guidelines. Further studies using validated tools and longitudinal designs are needed to evaluate the educational and clinical impact of such interventions.

Indexed as

Education, Medical, UndergraduateHeadacheSchools, MedicalStudents, MedicalAdultClinical CompetenceCross-Sectional StudiesCurriculumFemaleHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesTurkeyCurriculumHeadacheMedical EducationMigraine

Identifiers

PMID42401888
PMCPMC13637217

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.