MOVE AGAINST MIGRAINE CAMPAIGN ILLUSTRATES THE HIDDEN TRUTH ABOUT MIGRAINE

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After decades of fighting the stigma that migraine is just a bad headache, a leading nonprofit launches a migraine campaign to change perceptions. If you remember our interview with Dr. David Dodick in 2016, he promised that “2017 will be a breakthrough year for migraine.” That begins this week with a new migraine campaign that’s finally here!

According to the American Migraine Foundation (AMF) press release issued today, the new initiative – Move Against Migraine – will “empower the more than 36 million Americans living with migraine to advocate for themselves to find the support and treatment they need.” That’s us. Because digital campaigns have no borders, the 1 billion migraine sufferers around the world should benefit as well.

Why now? Given the lack of awareness of the varied symptoms that can occur during migraine attacks and the long-standing stigma associated with this disease, less than 5% of those with the most debilitating form of migraine have sought help, received a diagnosis and been treated.1

THE IMPACT OF MIGRAINE ON SOCIETY

“Migraine is a neurological disease that costs our healthcare system more than $20 billion each year,” said David Dodick, MD, chair of the American Migraine Foundation, president of the International Headache Society and Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. “For more than 90 percent of those affected, it interferes with education, career and social activities, yet many people don’t get the help they need. Move Against Migraine mobilizes patients to become self-advocates to live healthy and fulfilling lives and inspire support for research that will lead to safe and more effective treatments.“

HOW MIGRAINE AFFECTS PATIENTS

Few realize the impact migraine has upon our lives, our families and our work. Because of the social stigma and fear of impact on my career, I hid my migraines for years. I am grateful for the energy and investment behind this campaign. That’s one reason I founded Migraine Again, joined the American Migraine Foundation Board and am co-hosting the Migraine World Summit. Migraine is misunderstood and under-diagnosed, and greater awareness is needed.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

The Move Against Migraine campaign aims to help people learn more about migraine and treatment options, as well as assist them in finding help by accessing migraine experts and resources. Additionally the initiative connects individuals with others in the community living with migraine, as well as doctors and researchers in the field. It integrates advertising, public relations, social and digital media, as well as radio and television public service announcements. The campaign features original, compelling artwork of an exploding head and nerve storm, the kind of sensation that many migraine sufferers report.

If your life and work are impacted by migraine, you can find resources and tools about AMF and Move Against Migraine at www.americanmigrainefoundation.org. Sharing the campaign on social media is a great way to help accelerate the message. We’re all in this together.

If you’d like to know more about the AMF, check out our take on 5 Things to Know About American Migraine Foundation.

COMMENTS? HAVE YOU SHARED THE NEW AMF CAMPAIGN, MOVE AGAINST MIGRAINE?

Images: The American Migraine Foundation

1 Dodick DW, Loder EW, Adams AM, et al. Assessing Barriers to Chronic Migraine Consultation, Diagnosis, and Treatment: Results From the Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes (CaMEO) Study. US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health. doi: 10.1111/head.12774. Published May 3, 2016.

2 Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 Collaborators (2015) Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet (published online June 8, 2015 at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60692-4)

Via: MigraineAgain