Learning migraine self-management: the role of mothers and socioeconomic status

Abstract

One in five U.S. women have migraine. Most do not seek migraine-specific treatment, relying heavily on social networks for knowledge. Self-management is fundamental, but little is known about how women learn to self-manage during and in-between headaches. We present findings here from an exploratory qualitative study. We interviewed 6 women on how and from whom they learned to self-manage migraine. Results indicate migraine self-management strategies reflect the migraine self-management behaviors observed in trusted migraineurs - who were predominantly mothers and grandmothers. Strategies and what was learned from trusted migrainuers varied between women with higher and lower socioeconomic status. How social learning affects current self-management among women with migraine needs additional research to guide providers in understanding, and optimizing, migraine self-management counseling with their patients.

Keywords: coping; migraine; self-management; social learning theory; socioeconomic status; women’s health.

Figure 1

The participant and her trusted migraineur shared migraine symptoms, a strong sense of trust, and either lived together or were in close contact during the initial onset of the participant’s migraines. The trusted migraineur is the most dominant theme–with advised and observed self-management as mechanisms for this dominance. The participants’ own research, trial and error, and guidance from health care providers were all peripheral to the impact of the trusted migraineur on migraine self-management.