Individuals With Migraine Likely to Self-Treat Due to Concern  About Not Being Taken Seriously When Accessing Care

Data from the OVERCOME (NCT03901482) study show 45% (17,951/39,494) of individuals with migraine hesitated to seek care, and 42% of these individuals never sought migraine care. The most common reasons for choosing self-management werewanting to care for their symptoms on their own (45%) and being concerned their migraine would not be taken seriously (35%). Other reasons for not seeking care included not believing their migraine attacks were serious or painful enough (29%), financial considerations (29%), and insurance access and reimbursement (21%). Individuals who did not seek migraine care in the preceding 12 months (42%) experienced at least moderate disability, as measured by Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS). The MIDAS assessed the impact of headache attacks on daily activities in school, work, at home, or socially across 3 months. 
 
“OVERCOME, the largest population-based study of its kind, provides crucial insights to improve migraine care,” said Robert E. Shapiro, MD, Department of Neurological Sciences, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, and scientific advisor to the OVERCOME study. “Given that nearly half of survey respondents hesitated to seek migraine care, we urgently need to understand the bases for these barriers and promote more effective dialogue between healthcare providers and people with migraine to improve their health outcomes.”

The OVERCOME study is a multicohort, cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective web-based patient survey designed to follow population samples with migraine for up to 2 years. The study provides further understanding of the unmet needs of those with migraine by assessing migraine burden, barriers to appropriate treatment, and how novel treatment options may influence delivery of migraine care and outcomes.