April 2023 Society Spotlight
Special Interest Section Edition: Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine
The Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine Section is always striving to find ways to optimize management and treatment of headache disorders in our underserved communities. A major effort to come out of our group was the publication of a paper in Neurology in 2021 where we addressed the many disparities that patients with headache disorders face with regard to race, socioeconomic status, geographic location and insurance status. We also highlighted some ways in which these disparities can be addressed.
In 2021, we submitted a proposal for a pre-course as a joint initiative with the New Investigators Section that focused on the efforts of our society members to increase access to headache medicine within the underserved communities in which they practiced. The course was called Health Equity and Inclusion in Headache Medicine. After the course was completed, we then published a review article in Headache in 2022 that was an overview of the challenges faced by underserved and vulnerable populations in headache medicine and reported on the observations of headache providers in urban and rural settings.
Through the process of identifying disparities and looking for ways to mitigate them, we discussed the creation of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force within the American Headache Society to focus on efforts to diversify our society and ensure we are operating in an equitable fashion. As a proud member of that task force, we have come up with a number of ideas to implement throughout the next year that will hopefully lead to improving diversity, equity and inclusion within the American Headache Society.
The latest project to emerge out of our section is one I have personally implemented at my institution in the creation of a headache medicine subspecialty clinic at a community hospital. As a faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern, I spend some time at Parkland community hospital precepting resident continuity clinic. There are often noticeable gaps in neurologic care at community hospitals and headache medicine was a major one. The majority of the patients at Parkland are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and are uninsured or underinsured. Additionally, the lack of a headache specialist on site creates further disparity in the care of these patients. We created a faculty run headache medicine subspecialty clinic, which provides access to headache treatment for patients from underserved communities. Members of the underserved populations headache medicine SIG are working on similar efforts at their own institutions. We have met to discuss our personal efforts and how we can consolidate what we’ve learned from establishing these centers of care and providing a model for others who wish to do the same. This is a goal we are slated to pursue in the coming year.
Join the Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine Special Interest Section
Meet the Chair
Jessica Kiarashi, MD
As far back as medical school, I knew I wanted to work with patients with headache disorders. While doing a rotation at the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, I encountered a diverse population of patients with headache disorders from an array of backgrounds and communities. It became increasingly clear throughout my training that headache medicine is an underserved field and patients from underserved communities face more barriers to care. It became one of my goals to seek ways in which to improve access to care for patients from underserved communities.
It has been an honor to lead the Underserved in Headache Medicine Populations Section of the American Headache Society for the last 3 years. I am looking forward to how much more we can achieve in 2023 and beyond.