[What questions do headache patients pose in the internet? Content analysis of an internet expert forum]

Most episodes of headache are not presented to doctors but are treated by self-management. Especially in these cases, the Internet has become an increasingly important source of health-care information. The aim of this study was to investigate the questions and needs of persons who sought help for their headache in an internet expert forum.

Using a content analysis approach, we analysed all questions sent to an internet expert forum for migraine and headache ( www.lifeline.de ).

We analysed a total of 835 questions sent from April 2002 until April 2006. The majority of questions (85%) came from women. Most often the visitors asked questions about symptoms (32.2%, n=269), drugs or therapies (32.0%) and psychosocial problems (20%). Few visitors (45/835) complained about their doctors. Some of these were dissatisfied with their therapy and/or the effect and possible side effects of their prescribed drugs. In 19 questions we detected communication problems in former consultations with their doctors.

Visitors of an expert forum for migraine and headache had questions about symptoms and their interpretation as well as drugs and therapies. Dissatisfaction with current treatment motivated only few patients to turn to the Internet. For most visitors the expert forum is obviously not an alternative but a supplement to professional care.