Evaluation des Gesundheitsverhaltens von Migräne- und Kopfschmerzpatienten bei digitaler Therapiebegleitung mit der Smartphone-Applikation Migräne-App

Background: Tension-type headache and migraine are the second and third most prevalent disorders of mankind worldwide, after dental caries. The widespread im-plementation of smartphones allows the use of specific software applications ("apps") for digital therapy accompaniment. In this study, the use of the “migraine app” shall be examined in the practical treatment of migraine and headache patients in an extensive population sample. Methods: An online survey was developed for the analysis of experiences as part of the therapy accompaniment and app usage. It contains questions concerning socio-demographic variables, the course of headache disorders, and the previous treat-ment as well as the usage of the migraine app. The survey establishes compliance to the recommended therapy, the treatment plan, and therapeutic rules devised by the treating physician. The data collected were compared to traditional pen-and-paper documentation, prior to using the migraine app. Results: 1.464 users participated in the standardized survey. The average age was 47.19 ± 11.37 years (87.4% female, 12.5% male). On average, users suffered from headaches for 27.28 ± 13.6 years. The majority (76.5%) was cared for by their gen-eral practitioner. 70.9% of users reported, that they presented the aggregated data from the app to their physician on consultation. 76.4% reported, that the migraine app helped them to adhere to the treatment plan designed together with their physi-cian and the rules about headache therapy. It showed both a highly significant re-duction of headache days per months prior to usage (13,30 ± 7,45) in comparison to the time of survey conduction (10,03 ± 7,30) as well as a highly significant reduction of intake of acute medication (before: 7.61 ± 5.58 vs. ongoing: 6.78 ± 4.72 days). Conclusion: The data show that the digital treatment control for therapy decisions made by the physician is highly relevant and established. Therapy compliance is improved and possible complications such as medication-overuse headache are reduced. At the same time, a significant improvement of headache parameters and overall a marked improvement of treatment quality, amongst other things due to more easily available information and self-help tools, can be observed.