Efficacy of an educational website on headaches in schoolchildren: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial.

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Title: Efficacy of an educational website on headaches in schoolchildren: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial.
Authors: Goldstein, Henrike, Rau, Lisa‐Marie, Humberg, Clarissa, Bachhausen, Verena, Stahlschmidt, Lorin, Wager, Julia
Source: Headache: The Journal of Head & Face Pain. Jun2025, Vol. 65 Issue 6, p961-972. 12p.
Subjects: Health literacy, Pain measurement, Self-efficacy, Cluster analysis (Statistics), Job absenteeism, Research funding, Educational outcomes, Statistical sampling, Health, Randomized controlled trials, Descriptive statistics, Psychological adaptation, Information resources, Tension headache, Teenagers' conduct of life, Web development, Health education, Confidence intervals, Child behavior, Adolescence, Children
Abstract: Objective: In this cluster‐randomized controlled trial, we developed an educational website on tension‐type headache and migraine for children and adolescents and evaluated its effectiveness in a school setting. Background: Primary headaches are a widespread issue in children and adolescents, often persisting into adulthood and associated with considerable disabilities, costs, and reduced quality of life. Effective management of primary headaches may prevent chronicity and its associated consequences. Design: Guided by a workbook, N = 814 fifth and sixth grade students explored the website during class. Data were collected before the headache education and at three further assessments, each 4 weeks apart, between November 2021 and April 2022. Participants were randomly assigned by class to either the intervention group, which received the website‐based educational intervention after the first data collection, or a control group, which accessed the website after the last data collection. Results: The intervention significantly increased children's headache‐related knowledge (time × group interaction: β = 0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.30; 0.41], p ≤ 0.001) and resulted in fewer passive pain coping strategies (time × group interaction: β = −0.06, 95% CI = [−0.12; 0.00], p = 0.044). However, the intervention did not significantly reduce the number of days with headaches, use of headache medication, or school absences due to headaches. Conclusion: While the website is an effective educational tool for imparting knowledge about headaches, even initiating small behavioral changes, it does not lead to substantial changes in behavior or headache characteristics. Educating children via this website may lay a solid foundation of knowledge, but the intervention should be expanded and supplemented with closer supervision to achieve more significant behavior changes and improved outcomes. Plain Language Summary: Many children have headaches, so we wanted to find out if a headache‐focused educational website and workbook could improve headaches and their management in school children. Participants were 814 fifth and sixth graders who were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. We found that the intervention increased knowledge and reduced passive coping strategies, but did not change headache symptoms or behaviors; therefore, this intervention may be an easily accessible, cheap, and time‐saving option for schools to impart knowledge on headaches for their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Headache: The Journal of Head & Face Pain is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Efficacy of an educational website on headaches in schoolchildren: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+literacy%22">Health literacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pain+measurement%22">Pain measurement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-efficacy%22">Self-efficacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cluster+analysis+%28Statistics%29%22">Cluster analysis (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Job+absenteeism%22">Job absenteeism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+outcomes%22">Educational outcomes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistical+sampling%22">Statistical sampling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health%22">Health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Randomized+controlled+trials%22">Randomized controlled trials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+adaptation%22">Psychological adaptation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+resources%22">Information resources</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tension+headache%22">Tension headache</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teenagers'+conduct+of+life%22">Teenagers' conduct of life</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+development%22">Web development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+education%22">Health education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confidence+intervals%22">Confidence intervals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+behavior%22">Child behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescence%22">Adolescence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective: In this cluster‐randomized controlled trial, we developed an educational website on tension‐type headache and migraine for children and adolescents and evaluated its effectiveness in a school setting. Background: Primary headaches are a widespread issue in children and adolescents, often persisting into adulthood and associated with considerable disabilities, costs, and reduced quality of life. Effective management of primary headaches may prevent chronicity and its associated consequences. Design: Guided by a workbook, N = 814 fifth and sixth grade students explored the website during class. Data were collected before the headache education and at three further assessments, each 4 weeks apart, between November 2021 and April 2022. Participants were randomly assigned by class to either the intervention group, which received the website‐based educational intervention after the first data collection, or a control group, which accessed the website after the last data collection. Results: The intervention significantly increased children's headache‐related knowledge (time × group interaction: β = 0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.30; 0.41], p ≤ 0.001) and resulted in fewer passive pain coping strategies (time × group interaction: β = −0.06, 95% CI = [−0.12; 0.00], p = 0.044). However, the intervention did not significantly reduce the number of days with headaches, use of headache medication, or school absences due to headaches. Conclusion: While the website is an effective educational tool for imparting knowledge about headaches, even initiating small behavioral changes, it does not lead to substantial changes in behavior or headache characteristics. Educating children via this website may lay a solid foundation of knowledge, but the intervention should be expanded and supplemented with closer supervision to achieve more significant behavior changes and improved outcomes. Plain Language Summary: Many children have headaches, so we wanted to find out if a headache‐focused educational website and workbook could improve headaches and their management in school children. Participants were 814 fifth and sixth graders who were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. We found that the intervention increased knowledge and reduced passive coping strategies, but did not change headache symptoms or behaviors; therefore, this intervention may be an easily accessible, cheap, and time‐saving option for schools to impart knowledge on headaches for their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Headache: The Journal of Head & Face Pain is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/head.14923
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 961
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Health literacy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pain measurement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-efficacy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cluster analysis (Statistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Job absenteeism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational outcomes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistical sampling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Randomized controlled trials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological adaptation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information resources
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tension headache
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teenagers' conduct of life
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Web development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Confidence intervals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adolescence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Efficacy of an educational website on headaches in schoolchildren: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial.
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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