Development and evaluation of an online hypnosis programme for the treatment of migraine

This study examined the development and evaluation of an online hypnosis programme for the treatment of migraine. 43 participants who suffered with two or more migraines a month and who satisfied other study criteria enrolled. A mixed methods design was employed. 7 surveys were delivered online over 6 weeks. Pain Catastrophizing (PCS), Headache Disability (HDI), number of migraines, hours of migraine, frequency and severity of migraine, and mg of medication were measured. Each week, from week two to week six the intervention group had access to a different hypnosis mp3s specifically developed for the study. Significant improvements were found from Time 14 (pre-intervention) to Time 84 (6-week follow up). There was a 48% reduction in mean HDI score in the treatment group. The control group experienced a 2% reduction in HDI. The percentage change in the mean PCS score corresponded to a 60% reduction in the treatment group. The control group experienced an average increase of 7% in PCS score. There was no evidence of a significant difference between the change in number of migraines between groups. The median change in total hours of migraine was significant. The treatment group and control group at 6-week follow up vs Time 14 showed a decrease of 8 hours and 0 hours respectively per week. There was evidence of a significant difference in the proportion of participants experiencing a decrease in severity of migraine in the Treatment vs the Control group at Time 42 but not at Time 84. Attrition rates were 9.3% at Time 42 and 21% at Time 84 (6-week follow up). In conclusion, data from the studies presented in this thesis provides evidence that hypnosis is an effective tool for assisting migraine sufferers to reduce headache disability and pain catastrophizing associated with the condition.

Publisher

NUI Galway

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

cbn

Collections

University of Galway Theses (PhD Theses)