Migraine headache is a prevalent health problem that negatively impacts the sufferer's ability to function at work and with family and friends. Self-directed treatments are a way to reach a large number of migraine sufferers, many of whom do not seek services and remain in need of treatment. However, these interventions often suffer from attrition and an inability to address specific needs of the headache sufferer. Incorporating tailored messaging into self-directed behavioral treatment may provide a way to overcome the obstacles that exist in the effective delivery of self-directed treatment protocols for headache. Tailored messaging, already used effectively in areas of health promotion, uses informational and behavioral strategies designed to modify behaviors that influence one's health-related activities, and targets the specific needs of sufferers. The proposed study looks to develop and incorporate a tailored messaging system into a self- directed treatment for migraine headache.
The specific aims of this proposal are to develop the tailored messages and the message algorithm to be used in the intervention, evaluate the impact of the intervention on headache activity and headache-related disability, determine whether headache-related beliefs mediate treatment effects, and evaluate the extent to which the tailored messages are perceived to be effective by the treatment recipients.
