73.9% of all seventh graders complain of regularly occurring headaches: Headache Day, September 5, 2016

A nationwide campaign for headache prevention in children and adolescents publishes initial survey results and the comic film "Mütze is fed up with headaches"

Kiel and Frankfurt am Main, September 5, 2016. For a year now, the "Aktion Mütze – Kindheit ohne Kopfzerbrechen" (Action Hat – Childhood Without Headaches) initiative has been providing seventh-grade classes with free teaching materials on headache prevention. Twenty-one health insurance companies are supporting the project nationwide as part of their statutory prevention mandate. The first representative evaluation of 1,102 questionnaires from the accompanying scientific survey confirms the widespread epidemiological prevalence of migraines and headaches. At the same time, it highlights the inadequate care available to children and adolescents affected by headaches.

At a press conference on National Headache Day, September 5, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., at the Federal Press Conference building in Berlin, Schiffbauerdamm 40, the initiators and sponsors of "Aktion Mütze" will provide detailed information about the survey results and a comic film that educates students in a contemporary way about the causes and prevention of headaches. Members of the press are cordially invited.

“73.9 percent of seventh graders complain of primary headaches. The most common forms are migraine and tension-type headaches,” summarizes Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel, Director of the Kiel Pain Clinic and scientific director of the study. “Nearly 50 percent of those affected report migraine symptoms – this is significantly more than previous studies suggested.” 78.7 percent of children with tension headaches and 62.1 percent of those with migraine-like symptoms have not yet consulted a doctor. 33.8 percent of those with tension headaches and even 40.9 percent of children and adolescents with migraines take headache medication without a doctor's prescription.

Professor Hartmut Göbel from the Kiel Pain Clinic and the Migraine and Headache Foundation, along with Karin Frisch from the non-profit Center for Research and Diagnostics in Implants, Inflammation, and Pain (ZIES gGmbH), are addressing this trend with a headache prevention campaign for children and adolescents, which is already being implemented in 15 German states. They have developed three lesson plans with all the necessary materials. "Through this teaching unit, which seventh-grade classes can order free of charge, students, teachers, and parents learn how they can effectively prevent headaches by making changes in the daily lives of those affected. The lessons highlight the risks of indiscriminate medication use and emphasize the benefits of targeted counseling and prevention," explains teacher Karin Frisch, describing the concept of "Action Hat – Childhood Without Headaches.".

Starting this fall, the most important information will also be conveyed through an entertaining and child-friendly animated comic film, which will be available online as a free media offering. This will allow the film to reach children, teenagers, and families who are not participating in "Aktion Mütze" (Operation Hat). The Hamburg-based animation studio Animationsfabrik GmbH is responsible for the professional production. Several statutory health insurance companies, which are already among the sponsors of "Aktion Mütze," are providing financial support for the production.

The initiators of "Aktion Mütze" (Operation Hat) aim to do more than just strengthen individual health literacy. They believe that the situation of children and adolescents suffering from headaches can only be sustainably improved through the collaboration of many relevant stakeholders. "That's why our campaign deliberately includes school principals, teachers, and parents, and we are seeking dialogue with ministries and authorities," emphasizes Karin Frisch. Professor Hartmut Göbel, who contributed to the development of the International Classification of Headache Disorders , sees a need for further training among physicians: "Only 29.9% of those surveyed with symptoms typical of migraines who consulted a doctor knew their diagnosis. Among students with tension headaches, the figure was even slightly lower at 26.3%. Most sufferers don't know a name for their headaches and are unaware of any strategies for their prevention and treatment."

The data are based on a representative written survey of seventh-grade students participating in the "Action Hat" program. A two-stage representative sample (N=1,102) was analyzed from the questionnaires returned by June 2016. The survey will continue until July 2018. The next, more detailed analysis of the data is planned for May 2017.

“Action Hat – Childhood without headaches” is currently being carried out in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.

The following ministers/senators have assumed patronage for the implementation of the campaign in their respective federal states: Minister of Social Affairs Cornelia Rundt (Lower Saxony), Minister of State for Social Affairs and Consumer Protection Barbara Klepsch (Saxony), Senator for Health and Consumer Protection Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks (Hamburg), Senator for Science, Health and Consumer Protection Prof. Dr. Eva Quante-Brandt (Bremen).

The following statutory health insurance funds are currently participating in the joint promotion of
“Aktion Mütze – Kindheit ohne Kopfzerbrechen” (Action Hat – Childhood without Headaches): AOK Nordost, atlas BKK ahlmann, BARMER GEK, BIG direkt gesund, BKK·VBU, BKK Diakonie, BKK-DürkoppAdler, BKK firmus, BKK Technoform, BKK Werra-Meissner, BKK Wirtschaft & Finanzen, Bosch BKK, IKK Brandenburg und Berlin, IKK classic, IKK gesund plus, KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse, mhplus Krankenkasse, pronova BKK, R+V Betriebskrankenkasse, Siemag BKK, VIACTIV Krankenkasse.

The initiators and sponsors of the "Operation Hat" campaign will provide information about its development to date, the results of the accompanying scientific survey, and the comic film at a [event/conference/etc.]

Press conference on National Headache Day, September 5, 2016, 11 a.m., at the Federal Press Conference building in Berlin, Schiffbauerdamm 40.

Members of the press are cordially invited. Please let us know if you will be attending the press conference. If you are unable to attend, we would be happy to send you a press kit.

Your contacts:
ZIES non-profit GmbH Frankfurt am Main: Karin Frisch;
Pain Clinic Kiel: Prof. Dr. med. Dipl. Psych. Hartmut Göbel

atlas BKK ahlmann: Detlef Hagemeier
BARMER GEK: Dr. med. Utta Petzold
BKK·VBU: Martina Zimmermann
BKK firmus: Birgit Horwege
BKK Wirtschaft & Finanzen: Thorben Weichgrebe
BIG direkt gesund: Meike Höfler
IKK Brandenburg und Berlin: Ulrike Beyer
mhplus Krankenkasse: Sascha Brandenburger
VIACTIV Krankenkasse: Dietrich Hilje

Press contacts of the initiators:
ZIES non-profit GmbH: Karin Frisch, +49 171 198 65 90, info@zies-frankfurt.de
Kiel Pain Clinic: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel, +49 151 14 46 66 00, hg@schmerzklinik.de

Press contacts for sponsors:
AOK Nordost: Gabriele Rähse, 0800-26 50 80-222 02, gabriele.raehse@nordost.aok.de
atlas BKK ahlmann: Birte Becker, 0421-435 51 66, birte.becker@abkka.de
BARMER GEK: Daniel Freudenreich, 0800-33 20 60 44-30 28, daniel.freudenreich@barmer-gek.de
BIG direkt gesund: Bettina Kiwitt, 0231-55 57-10 16, Bettina.Kiwitt@big-direkt.de
BKK·VBU: Ellen Zimmermann, 030-726 12-13 15, ellen.zimmermann@bkk-vbu.de
BKK Diakonie: Tilman Dulisch, 0521-144-26 05, Tilman.Dulisch@bkk-diakonie.de
BKK_DürkoppAdler: Patricia Chudziak, 0521-260 77 56, patricia.chudziak@bkk-da.de
BKK firmus: Marc Pohlmann, 0541-33 14 11 01, marc.pohlmann@bkk-firmus.de ; Dirk Kirchhoff, 0541-33 14 11 96, dirk.kirchhoff@bkk-firmus.de
BKK Technoform: Selen Pfändner, 0551-63 42 52 10, Selen.Pfaendner@bkk-technoform.de
BKK Werra-Meissner: Claudia Küster, 05651-74 51-608, claudia.kuester@bkk-wm.de
BKK Wirtschaft & Finanzen: Thorben Weichgrebe, 05661-737 41 30, thorben.weichgrebe@bkk-wf.de
Bosch BKK: Sonja Feihle, 0711-811-307 90, Sonja.Feihle@de.bosch.com
IKK Brandenburg und Berlin: Gisela Köhler, 0331-64 63-160 gisela.koehler@ikkbb.de
IKK classic: Melanie Gestefeld, Tel. 0211-77 02-193, melanie.gestefeld@ikk-classic.de
IKK gesund plus: Gunnar Mollenhauer, 0391-28 06 20 02, pressestelle@ikk-gesundplus.de
KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse: Bettina Schulze, 0511-28 02-33 73, Bettina.Schulze@kkh.de
mhplus Krankenkasse: Sascha Brandenburger, 07141-97 90-97 40, Sascha.Brandenburger@mhplus.de
pronova BKK: Katrin Krause, 0214-322 96-1625, katrin.krause@pronovabkk.de
R+V BKK: Christian Diel, 0611-999 09-146, Christian.Diel@ruv-bkk.de
Siemag BKK: Jochen Kühn, 02733-29-28 80, jochen.kuehn@siemagbkk.de
VIACTIV Health Insurance: Dietrich Hilje, 0234-479 27 17, dietrich.hilje@viactiv.de