Is there an increase in headaches among junior high students in New york?

dherb · Feb 21, 2003

Dear Flynurse,

I agree, I'd have many headaches as well... I have seen a pattern for the standardized tests but I do see more h/a's at the end of the marking periods. I initially thought that it would be the students with lower GPA's that got more but my numbers show that the students with GPA's around 85and up have more! The whole research project has been interesting. Unfortunately i have not come up with any right or wrong answers. It is just omportant the a nurse is there to see these kids as needed! Did you see the article in news section that told about Massachusetts nurses being laid off due to the budget- kind of scary...

Flynurse · Feb 22, 2003

Originally posted by dherb
I have seen a pattern for the standardized tests but I do see more h/a's at the end of the marking periods. I initially thought that it would be the students with lower GPA's that got more but my numbers show that the students with GPA's around 85and up have more!

Really, I believe this whole heartedly! Studying for these exams leaves no room for the student to explore the subject. They have to cram all of this information into their little heads so they can spew it out at a later date!

More thoughts to come....I have a headache right now and can't think straight. (No, pun intended)

valk · Mar 1, 2003

dherb, Just came across this report & thought of you.

medscape is free to register.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450109

Context of Pediatric Headache Points to School-Related Stress

LONDON (Reuters Health) Feb 28 - Noisy classrooms and tough academic subjects can literally be a real headache for kids, Swedish researchers have found.

Working on the assumption that children probably have insights into what triggers their own headaches, Dr. Birgitta Hovelius and colleagues took the novel approach of actually asking a group of 10 to 14-year-olds about their experience of headache.

"We are trying to understand children's intuitive knowledge and understanding of factors affecting their health from the point of view that their narratives represent an important source of knowledge in the area of medical research," Dr. Hovelius told Reuters Health. "Such research has been neglected."

The children consistently linked their headaches with conditions in school, the researchers report in The British Journal of General Practice. "Specifically with more theoretically oriented subjects--mathematics or Swedish--a noisy and disorderly school environment, and insecure relations with classmates."

Another regular theme when the children were encouraged to talk freely was insecurity or conflict in their family.

"The biomedically oriented healthcare services and the healthcare information to which the children had access scarcely provided them with any real help in dealing with their headaches," the researchers write.

As many as 50% to 70% of adolescents report headaches, according to recent studies.

"The results of our study elucidate why physicians will fail to make sense of children's headaches if they approach them from a purely biomedical perspective," Dr. Hovelius told Reuters Health.

"This stresses the importance of broadening the consultation to include aspects at the personal and contextual level."

Br J Gen Pract 2003;53:210-215.

I hope it's not really considered novel to ask an adolescent about their experience of headache. Just seems like part of a good assessment. (JMHO)

bergren · Mar 11, 2003

Context of Pediatric Headache Points to School-Related Stress

Noisy classrooms and tough academic subjects can literally be a real headache for kids, Swedish researchers have found.

Reuters Health Information 2003

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450109?mpid=10705