Bold: Migraine care quality still hinges on ethnicity, revealing a troubling gap in UK healthcare. A representative survey conducted by a leading UK charity shows that people from ethnic minority backgrounds often receive worse migraine care and fear discrimination due to their condition. Migraine is a disabling neurological disorder marked by intense headache plus symptoms like dizziness, numbness, and vision changes. In the UK, about one in seven people live with migraines.
The Migraine Trust surveyed 2,200 adults and found striking disparities: 23% of mixed-ethnicity respondents, 19% of Asian respondents, and 16% of Black respondents reported that their ethnicity negatively affected the care they received, compared with only 7% of White respondents. Black respondents also expressed a higher fear of discrimination or career impact from migraines (37%) than White respondents (about 26%). Additionally, 19% of Asian and 14% of Black respondents worried they wouldn’t be believed about their migraines, versus 8% of White respondents.
Personal testimony highlights the issue. Abigail Kabirou, 26, described how racial stereotypes about pain tolerance shaped her migraine care: “As a Black woman, the stereotype that we can tolerate more pain deeply affected the care I received. Migraine is already hard enough to explain; there shouldn’t be extra barriers like gender or skin color making it harder.”
Rob Music, CEO of the Migraine Trust, condemned the persistence of care inequities. He emphasized that many people avoid seeking help or even discussing migraines for fear of social penalties like job loss and stereotyping. He noted that migraine can compound existing inequalities related to gender, ethnicity, and social status, influencing how patients are treated or perceived. "We cannot let this continue and need action across all levels of society so that people with migraine feel understood, safe and heard."
The study also found that while 91% of migraine sufferers had consulted a health professional, many faced misdiagnosis, dismissal, or inadequate treatment. Examples included doctors attributing migraines to hormonal factors or dismissing them as merely part of being a woman, and younger patients feeling dismissed as exaggerating or seeking attention.
Georgina Carr, CEO of the Neurological Alliance, underscored that the report exposes an unequal reality: one’s gender, ethnicity, or income should not determine whether care is believed, supported, or accessible, yet this is the experience of too many people with migraines. She urged employers, healthcare leaders, and policymakers to address these gaps and redesign systems to ensure equitable neurological care for everyone.
An NHS spokesperson reaffirmed the commitment to high-quality care for all patients, regardless of background, ethnicity, or gender. The NHS acknowledges migraines can be severely debilitating and encourages individuals to contact their local GP for support, highlighting the availability of various NHS treatment options.
