Research: What being a Migraine.com member means to you
Migraine.com just celebrated its 2-year anniversary as a community resource for people with migraine. About six months after the site was first launched, we asked you what you thought about the site—what kind of resources you were using and whether they were making an impact. A total of 524 of you answered our survey and the results were just released in the journal Headache.
The survey asked about your migraines and your belief that you could make a difference in your migraines. This belief is called self-efficacy. As people gain a stronger sense that they can positively impact their health, symptoms tend to decrease. Self-efficacy was rated through several questions, possible scores for each between 1 (low self-efficacy) to 10 (high self-efficacy). In general, self-efficacy was low to moderate, with scores ranging from 4 to 7.
Here's what we discovered:
- One in four people visited migraine.com at least one a day
- One in five visited 3 to 6 times a week
- One in three visited once or twice a week
- Frequency of visiting the site did not vary based on either migraine frequency or self-efficacy scores
- Over half of those visiting the website learned about new treatment options
- Over half learned more about migraine symptoms and triggers
- Two in five people used the information to make lifestyle changes to improve migraines
- Two in five visited their doctor to discuss migraines and one in five found a new migraine doctor
- One in three started a migraine journal
- People were more likely to read information on the website than participate in discussions or post questions
- People also found the website was helpful to show them they were not alone and help them connect with others sharing their experiences
- Some people were able to use Migraine.com to help educate others about their migraines
Visiting Migraine.com also resulted in these important changes:
- People were more likely to be involved in treatment decisions
- People found it easier to talk with others about their migraines
- 88 percent of participants indicated that they found others with similar experiences by visiting Migraine.com
Migraine frequency increased website use
- People experiencing more than 15 migraines per month had a marked impact from visiting Migraine.com
- They were more likely to make more migraine management changes after visiting Migraine.com than individuals with less frequent migraines
- They used more of the tools on the website
Thanks for sharing
This survey helps to show that Migraine.com can have wide-reaching impacts for people with migraine. How do you use Migraine.com? Do you have ideas or suggestions?
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