Eastern Europe, and particularly countries that were part of the USSR, represent one of the large knowledge gaps in the global estimate of headache burden. The Republic of Georgia is the first country in which Lifting The Burden has begun the process of filling these gaps. Knowing the population's needs for headache-related healthcare informs the development of headache services, and is a key element of Lifting The Burden's vision.
With support from the International Headache Society Russian Linguistic Subcommittee, chaired by Dr Zaza Katsarava, a door-to-door survey of a representative sample of the Georgian population has estimated the one-year prevalences of migraine, tension-type headache and chronic daily headache. This path-finding study in the former USSR developed new methods to reach people in their homes and invite them to participate. The analysis is now in progress. More will follow in future newsletters.