Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
J Med Internet Res. 2021 Nov 12;23(11):e32707. doi: 10.2196/32707.
The representation of migraine in the media is stereotypical. Standard images of migraine attacks display stylish young women holding their head in a pain pose. This representation may contribute to the social stigmatization of patients with migraine.
We aimed to analyze how patients with migraine and health care workers perceive online images of migraine.
The study consisted of an anonymous web-based survey of patients with migraine at the Headache Center of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (migraine group) and employees and students at our university (health care group). A total of 10 frequently used Adobe Stock photos of migraine attacks were presented to the participants. Each photo was rated on a scale of 0% to 100% based on how closely it resembled a realistic migraine attack (realism score). Patients with migraine also indicated how much each photo corresponded to their own experience of migraine as a percentage (representation score). We calculated the mean realism and representation scores for all photos and conducted further analyses using the categories male or female models, younger or older models, and unilateral or bilateral pain pose.
A total of 367 patients with migraine and 331 health care employees and students completed the survey. In both groups, the mean realism score was <50% (migraine group: 47.8%, SD 18.3%; health care group: 46.0%, SD 16.2%). Patients with migraine identified their own migraine experience in these photos to a lesser degree (mean representation score 44.4%, SD 19.8%; P<.001 when compared to the realism score). Patients and health care workers considered photos with male models to be more realistic than photos with females (P<.001) and photos with older models to be more realistic than those with younger people (P<.001). In the health care group only, a bilateral pain posture was deemed more realistic than a unilateral pose (P<.001).
Standard images of migraine attacks are considered only slightly or moderately realistic by patients and health care workers. Some characteristics perceived as more realistic such as male sex or older age are in contrast with migraine epidemiology. A more accurate representation of migraine in the media could help to raise awareness for migraine and reduce the associated stigma.
媒体对偏头痛的描述存在刻板印象。偏头痛发作的标准图像显示的是时尚的年轻女性用手托着头，表现出痛苦的姿势。这种表现可能导致偏头痛患者遭受社会污名化。
我们旨在分析偏头痛患者和医护人员如何看待偏头痛的在线图像。
这项研究包括一项匿名的在线调查，参与者为柏林夏洛蒂医科大学头痛中心的偏头痛患者（偏头痛组）以及我们大学的员工和学生（医护组）。向参与者展示了 10 张常用于 Adobe Stock 的偏头痛发作图片。根据这些图片与现实中偏头痛发作的相似度，对每张图片进行 0%至 100%的评分（逼真度评分）。偏头痛患者还会根据这些图片与自己偏头痛发作经历的相似度，以百分比的形式进行评分（代表性评分）。我们计算了所有图片的平均逼真度和代表性评分，并根据模特的性别、年龄以及疼痛姿势的单侧或双侧进行了进一步的分析。
共有 367 名偏头痛患者和 331 名医护员工和学生完成了调查。在两个组中，平均逼真度评分均<50%（偏头痛组：47.8%，SD 18.3%；医护组：46.0%，SD 16.2%）。偏头痛患者对这些图片中自身偏头痛发作经历的认同度较低（代表性评分平均为 44.4%，SD 19.8%；与逼真度评分相比，差异具有统计学意义，P<.001）。患者和医护人员认为男性模特的图片比女性模特的图片更逼真（P<.001），年长模特的图片比年轻模特的图片更逼真（P<.001）。仅在医护组中，双侧疼痛姿势被认为比单侧姿势更逼真（P<.001）。
偏头痛发作的标准图像被患者和医护人员认为只有轻度或中度逼真。一些被认为更逼真的特征，如男性性别或年龄较大，与偏头痛的流行病学不符。媒体更准确地描述偏头痛可以帮助提高对偏头痛的认识，减少相关的污名化。
