Biomedical subjects

Myra Hunter

Publications and source records attributed to Myra Hunter.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1983

The Headache Scale: a new approach to the assessment of headache pain based on pain descriptions.

A Headache Scale was developed to provide an assessment of both the quality and intensity of headache pain. Responses of 150 headache-prone subjects (49 migraine, 101 tension headache), were examined. Using a cluster analysis the adjectives were grouped into 7 clusters including 5 sensory and 2 affective subgroups. Headache was most commonly described in terms of clusters which reflected discomfort and aching pain sensations. Migraine and tension sufferers did not differ markedly in pain quality but intensity of pain differentiated these groups. The results did not support the traditional typology of headache, i.e., migraine/tension. An alternative method of classifying headache cases in terms of their psychological experiences rather than headache symptoms was put forward and implications for future research and treatment were discussed.

Female↗

PubMed1981

The experience of headache pain--an assessment of the qualities of tension headache pain.

The subjective component of headache pain has been neglected in headache research. In this study of 65 chronic headache sufferers, assessment of the subjective component was amplified using the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) as well as headache diaries. The overall level of pain experienced was as high as that previously reported for cancer and phantom-limb patients. Assessment of sensory pain qualities (MPQ) revealed differences between tension and migraine headache types; tension headaches were felt to be "tight", while migraines were experienced as "sharp", "blinding", "nauseating" and "sickening". The results thus support a dichotomous rather than a continuum model of headache. The relationship between the subjective experience of headache and mood (Wakefield Depression Scale) and personality (EPQ) was examined. Pain intensity and affective reactions to pain were associated with general mood state; however, no subjective measures correlated with personality indices. It was argued that the MPQ provided valuable additional information to be used with headache diaries, particularly in the assessment of sensory qualities and affective reactions to pain.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Memory for pain.

Memory for head pain was assessed by means of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). Sixteen neurosurgical patients were divided into two groups in order to examine the decay of memory over time; one group recalled pain after 5 days and the other recalled pain after one day and then again, after 5 days. Contrary to expectations, the recall of pain was surprisingly accurate. The memory for pain showed littled decay over time. The small subgroup of patients who made specific errors when recalling their pain comprised women who had high levels of pain and affect at the initial assessment. Overall, the findings provide some welcome reassurance about the accuracy and reliability of pain reports from memory.

Adolescent↗