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- Title
Advocacy Connection Team‐Now educational program for headache fellows and patients/caregivers: Assessment of educational objectives.
- Authors
Seebadri‐White, Courtney; Yuan, Hsiangkuo; Young, William B.; Arca, Karissa N.
- Abstract
Objective: To assess for improvement in comfort in participating in advocacy for migraine and headache disorders and knowledge needed for successful advocacy. Background: The Advocacy Connection Team (ACT)‐Now program is an educational program offered through Miles for Migraine, a non‐profit advocacy organization. It is designed to teach headache fellows and patients advocacy skills. Methods: In a cross‐sectional pre‐test–post‐test design, the 2021 ACT‐Now cohort of 98 participants were administered a set of 11 pre‐course survey questions identifying their role (healthcare provider/headache fellow or patient/caregiver), baseline knowledge of migraine‐related disability and stigma, and baseline engagement and comfort with advocating. The post‐course survey questions were the same as the pre‐course questions, with the addition of one question assessing knowledge of migraine‐related disability, additional questions addressing comfort levels advocating with insurance and policymakers, as well as creating an advocacy plan. Results: For the pre‐course survey, 69 participants responded and for the post‐course survey, 40 participants responded. Compared to the pre‐course survey, participants were able to correctly identify epidemiological data about migraine following the ACT‐Now course (pre‐course 46% correct, post‐course 58% correct, p = 0.263). There was also an increase in the comfort level of participants in advocacy activities, including the creation of an advocacy action plan (pre‐course 23% were "very comfortable" advocating, post‐course 63%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrate that ACT‐Now is effective at improving advocacy skills in a mixed cohort of patients and headache fellows, giving them the skills to create advocacy plans and engage with other patients and physicians, payers, and policymakers to create a more understanding, equitable and compassionate world for persons with migraine and other headache diseases. Plain Language Summary: Headache disorders are common and disabling, yet they are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and subject to stigma from the medical and outside communities. The Miles for Migraine Advocacy Connection Team (ACT)‐Now program arms headache fellow physicians and patient advocates to educate them on the importance of advocacy to improve diagnosis, understanding, access to treatment, and decreasing stigma. A survey of program participants demonstrated that ACT‐Now is effective at improving advocacy skills and this should create a more understanding, equitable, and compassionate world for persons with migraine and other headache diseases.
- Subjects
CROSS-sectional method; HEALTH literacy; PATIENTS; HEADACHE; QUESTIONNAIRES; EVALUATION of human services programs; COMPASSION; PATIENT advocacy; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; HOSPITAL medical staff; CAREGIVERS; PRE-tests &; post-tests; PROFESSIONS; ABILITY; HUMAN comfort; MIGRAINE; TRAINING; SOCIAL stigma
- Publication
Headache: The Journal of Head & Face Pain, 2024, Vol 64, Issue 4, p374
- ISSN
0017-8748
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/head.14705