19th European Headache Congress (EHC), Lisbon, Portugal.
The International Forum of Headache Nurses (IFHN) held an educational symposium at the 19th European Headache Congress (EHC) in Lisbon in December 2025. The Forum session was attended by approximately 100 delegates and was chaired by Headache/Migraine specialist nurse, Esther Tomkins (Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland). There were three invited headache nurse specialists and their presentations highlighted key areas surrounding migraine stigma.
IFHN Co-founder and outgoing President, Ms. Annette Rasmussen (Headache specialist nurse, University Hospital Zealand, Roskilde, Denmark) opened the session and spoke briefly about the history of IFHN before announcing the transfer of the presidency Ms Jennifer Trouerbach, (Headache specialist nurse, Leiden Headache Centre, Netherlands). Annette will remain on the Board and will continue as an active member of the IFHN.
The first speaker, Ms. Judeia Lyka Pacana (Headache/Migraine specialist nurse, University College London Hospitals, Queen Square, London, UK), discussed the stigma of migraine in the wider community and the common misconceptions of people in general and also healthcare professionals. She pointed out that migraine is still underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and undertreated. Her talk also highlighted the fact that migraine is a biological condition with virtually no biomarkers. It is not just a bad headache that only affects women. One key point is that migraine should not be oversimplified as it is a complex neurological disorder with multiple clinical features and a wide array of presentations. Migraine patients are often not straightforward in terms of diagnosis and management. In addition, there is significant burden and disability associated with more chronic migraine including sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression.
Ms. Eulalia Gine Cipres (Headache/Migraine specialist nurse, Vall d’Hebron Hospital and Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain) then addressed the fact that headache specialist nurses are not recognised enough for their role. This was a talk addressing professional stigma and the correlation with patient stigma. She spoke passionately about how many patients with migraine feel misunderstood, judged or invisible when living with migraine. She then focused on how some nurses feel undervalued in their headache roles and can feel ignored or excluded professionally. Migraine may be stigmatised by colleagues as an unimportant medical or neurological condition. Some of the main deficiency areas highlighted were lack of education, lack of specialised training, lack of formal recognition of headache nursing practice and more importantly lack of awareness of the scope of headache nursing practice. This has been demonstrated by the lack of awareness of expanded specialist and advance practice roles within Headache Medicine.
The last speaker was Maren Ostergaard Eriksen, (Headache/Migraine specialist nurse, Hemi Klinikken, Frederiksberg, Denmark) and she addressed the stigma of living with migraine. She discussed the results of the recent European Headache and Migraine Alliance (EHMA) study: “Migraine stigma and general knowledge of migraine: A cross-sectional European Survey” (Goadsby et al, Cephalalgia, 45, 9, 2025). It reported that 53% of patients felt the disease was not well understood, 40% felt that it was not understood at all and 57% felt medical professionals only partially understood. Maren also highlighted ways to combat stigma including both patient and health professional education, public awareness campaigns, more financial resources for Headache Medicine units and patient advocacy.
A interactive and informative question and answer session followed the three presentations, and the session closed noting the next IFHN two-day educational session to be held in person in Oslo, Norway, May 28-29, 2026.
IFHN would like to thank EHF president, Prof. Antoinette Massen van den Brink and the European Headache Federation for inviting us to present at the meeting in Lisbon. It was a very rewarding and valuable experience for all involved.
IFHN 