Web-based Support to Self-Manage Migraine Pain

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Migraine headache is a common, chronic medical condition characterized by recurrent acute attacks that create pain, disability and loss of function. Approximately 18% of women and 6.5% of men in the United States, an estimated 28 million Americans, suffer from migraine headache. Half of these individuals are under treated and under diagnosed. Traditional treatment approaches have met with limited success and tend to "medicalize" patients by placing them in a passive role. Clinically, little emphasis is placed on teaching patients active coping and behavioral self-management skills. Research demonstrates that a critical component of successful treatment is engaging the patient in learning active self-management strategies in order to identify, avoid, and manage headache situations and triggers. Accessible and tailored interventions are needed to facilitate patient education and engagement in the adoption of behavioral self- management skills. The Internet offers a vehicle for educating patients and assisting them in developing, maintaining, and tracking behavioral self-management activities. Most currently available migraine Websites lack tailored, evidence-based messaging and self-management training, and none have been scientifically validated for efficacy in helping patients attain improved outcomes. The proposed Website, MyMigraineHeadache.com, will provide an evidence-based resource offering education, motivational interventions, interactive tools, strategies for effective communication with healthcare providers, and behavioral self-management training, within a user-friendly, engaging, multimedia format. The program will be tested in Phase II to demonstrate the programs' efficacy and clinical utility.