College students' migraine perceptions and lived experiences: A qualitative study

Our objectives were to understand migraine-related perceptions among college students and the lived experiences of those with migraine on college campuses and to generate recommendations for supporting college students with migraine.

During young adulthood, there is a sharp growth in migraine prevalence and disability-adjusted life years. Migraine prevalence is approximately 16% among university students and negatively influences several aspects of a student's college experience.

This was a qualitative study using phenomenological inquiry via virtual semistructured focus groups. Recruitment took place between April 2025 and July 2025. An initial 60-min focus group was conducted in May 2025 with an all-women's college to assess our questions' relevance and comprehensiveness. We then conducted four national focus groups in June 2025 and July 2025 with college students from across the United States. All focus groups included students with and without severe headache or migraine (self-reported). Focus groups were transcribed and independently coded twice. We developed themes for the five focus groups using content analysis. Qualitative analysis was conducted between July 2025 and September 2025.

Three students attended the all-women's college focus group and 47 students attended one of the four national focus groups (n = 50). The following themes emerged from the five focus groups: (1) Migraine is often misunderstood and not discussed on campus, with misconceptions surrounding severity and its distinction from headache. (2) The impact of migraine on campus is significant, with students reporting various triggering environments, difficulty maintaining focus, attending class, performing academically, preserving social relationships, and participating in extracurricular activities. (3) The most commonly reported accommodations for migraine were academic, specifically exam- and attendance-related, though not always honored by professors. (4) Access to migraine care for students is challenging, with reports that student health centers are typically unapproachable, inconvenient, and unhelpful, with students seeking external providers for migraine. Students recommended more awareness and education initiatives for improved understanding of migraine as well as increased access to migraine resources and accommodations.

The experiences captured in our study provide unique qualitative insights by highlighting how misunderstanding of migraine on campus contributes to social and academic challenges faced by students with migraine. Students described unmet needs related to widespread misunderstanding of migraine, limited academic flexibility, environmental triggers, limited access to care, and inconsistent implementation of accommodations, highlighting that greater awareness of migraine, especially by professors and student health services, is crucial on college campuses. There are opportunities for migraine education programs on college campuses to increase knowledge and awareness about migraine and create a more supportive migraine environment.