Year: 1989
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to compare the relative efficacy and cost-efficiency of two reduced-therapist-contact formats for delivery of a behavioral package to treat chronic headaches. The 8-week treatment was delivered in a group-administered format to one treatment group and in a self-administered format to a second. A waiting-list control group was also included. Treatment components included education about headaches and their precipitants, relaxation training, and cognitive-behavioral stress management techniques. The participants in the study suffered from migraine, mixed, or tension headaches. Eleven subjects were assigned to each of the 3 treatment conditions. At posttreatment subjects in the group-administered (GA) and self-administered (SA) treatments showed 56.3% and 54.5% reductions in headache activity, respectively. Subjects in the waiting-list control (WLC) showed a 7.2% reduction. Statistically, the treatment groups differed significantly from the WLC at posttreatment, but not from each other. At a 6 month follow-up the GA group maintained a 52.8% reduction, while the SA group maintained only a 32.6% decrease. These differences were not statistically significant within either group, nor did the 2 groups differ significantly from each other at follow-up. Both treatments were found to be highly cost-effective and did not differ significantly from each other in this respect. However, the attrition rate was 45% for the SA condition compared to 18% for the GA condition. While subjects can benefit from both treatment formats, logistical aspects of treatment delivery and possibly reduced attrition rates favor the group-administered treatment format within this study. Overall, the study provides further evidence that minimal-contact treatments hold considerable promise as effective and cost-efficient methods in the treatment of chronic headaches.
Author: John Kesselring
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2581149221