Exploring patient-centered interventions and comorbid symptoms in episodic migraine management: A qualitative study

This study investigated the subjective nature of episodic migraine by exploring comorbid symptoms and patient-centered interventions. Twenty participants with a mean age of 29 years were subjected to semi-structured interviews. The study participants reported an average frequency of migraine attacks of 4.18 days per month (SD = 2.03), with an average duration of 21 hours (SD = 22.20), over the last 7.9 years (SD = 5.88). The interviews were transcribed, and two independent coders identified emergent themes via a reflexive thematic approach within a postpositivist framework. The intercoder reliability (Kappa coefficient = 0.74) indicated substantial agreement between the coders. These findings indicate that episodic migraine affects four major life domains. The most affected domain was the emotional‒psychological domain, followed by the social‒behavioral, cognitive, and physical domains. The most prominent patient-centered interventions included relaxation techniques, trigger avoidance, distraction, dietary changes, interpersonal support, medical interventions, assertive communication, and social isolation. Our study utilized network analysis to visualize and explore qualitative data. This novel approach provides a deeper level of understanding by presenting themes as nodes of various sizes based on their dominance and significance for clarity and reader engagement. In conclusion, addressing subjective experiences provides a holistic approach to decreasing the burden and progression of episodic migraine. The findings suggest that future research could explore dialectical behavior therapy techniques as a novel approach for managing the impact of episodic migraines.