Music and Imagery for Veterans With Migraine Headache

IMAGINE is a single arm pilot trial. At least 10 and up to 25 Veterans with migraine headache will participate in 8-weekly one-to-one telehealth MI sessions. Sessions will be conducted via a private channel in VA Microsoft Teams, which is a VA approved platform. Each 60-minute MI session is facilitated by a music therapist and consists of 1) a verbal check-in 2) music listening (Veteran patient and therapist choose music together) 3) processing imagery elicited by music, which is done through optional artwork or discussion of the imagery 4) identification of ways to continue to work with music and imagery independently between sessions. Feasibility metrics related to recruitment, retention, engagement, and completion of treatment protocols and assessments will be evaluated. Acceptability will be measured through brief feedback from participant interviews. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to attain Veteran experiences, including perceived benefits, barriers and facilitators. Interview transcripts will be coded and analyzed for emergent themes. Aim 2 outcomes will be explored through changes in headache frequency and associated symptoms from baseline to follow-up immediately following completion of MI sessions. Descriptive statistics will be used to report outcomes. This study is not powered to detect differences in outcomes.

Inclusion criteria

• A migraine headache ICD-10 diagnosis, and confirmed by the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) assessment.
• Completion of at least 28 headache diary days
• A confirmed frequency of ≥4 headache days per month
• Confirmed access to a smartphone, computer/tablet
• A primary pain complaint of headache. Patients must be stabilized on their headache medications. Patients must be on their current headache medications for the last 3 months and have no known future changes to those medications for the next 3 months from the start of enrollment.

Exclusion criteria

• Non-Veterans
• Veterans without a migraine headache ICD-10 diagnosis
• Veterans without a migraine headache confirmation from AMPP
• Veterans whose primary pain complaint is not headache
• Veterans who do not speak English
• Veterans with a significant cognitive impairment based on EHR ICD10 diagnosis [Mild Cognitive Impairment G31.84; Dementia F03.90; Alzheimer's Dementia G30.9] and confirmed by the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ)19 cognitive screener during the initial baseline assessment. Veterans with a hearing deficit that would impair participation in the MI intervention
• Veterans who have a diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury ≤ 1 year before diagnosis of migraine or worsening of migraine as indicated by post-traumatic headache screening tool
• Veterans currently suffering from a disabling psychiatric illness (as noted by clinician); or psychiatric hospitalization in the last 6 months
• Veterans who have active psychotic symptoms, suicidality, or severe depressive symptoms (PHQ score >20) per patient report and/or EHR notes
• Veterans who have had suicidal and/or homicidal ideation in the past 6 months.
• Veterans who decline to or cannot pass the tech screening4b
• Veterans receiving hospice or palliative care
• Veterans who do not have access to smartphone, computer/tablet