Symptom | Intervention | Control 1 month | Exper 1 month | Control 3 month | Exper 3 month |
Headache | Not applicable—no headaches. | 3/66 (5%) | 7/58 (12%) | 3/62 (5%) | 5/47 (11%) |
Home treatments, such as heat packs and self-massage. | 16/63 (25%) | 22/51 (43%) | 19/59 (32%) | 18/42 (43%) | |
Advice about lifestyle changes, such as eating regular healthy meals, staying hydrated and getting exercise. | 30/63 (48%) | 23/51 (45%) | 28/59 (48%) | 18/42 (43%) | |
Non-drug therapy, such as physiotherapy or massage therapy. | 34/63 (54%) | 33/51 (66%) | 27/59 (46%) | 24/42 (57%) | |
Medications to take regularly each day, whether or not you have a headache. | 13/63 (21%) | 10/51 (20%) | 18/59 (31%) | 7/42 (17%) | |
Medications to take when you get a headache (‘prn’ or as-needed). | 34/63 (54%) | 29/51 (57%) | 33/59 (56%) | 22/42 (52%) | |
At least one headache intervention. | 43/63 (68%) | 39/58 (67%) | 43/62 (69%) | 29/47 (62%) | |
Depression /anxiety | Not applicable—no mental health problems. | 12/68 (18%) | 7/58 (12%) | 8/62 (13%) | 7/47 (15%) |
General advice about lifestyle changes to improve your mood, such as regular social and physical activity. | 17/56 (30%) | 15/51 (29%) | 19/54 (35%) | 17/40 (43%) | |
Medication to improve your mood (depression, stress or anxiety). | 9/56 (16%) | 6/51 (12%) | 13/54 (24%) | 9/40 (23%) | |
Referral to a psychologist or counsellor. | 7/56 (13%) | 14/51 (28%) | 15/54 (28%) | 16/40 (40%) | |
Referral to a psychiatrist. | 1/56 (2%) | 4/51 (8%) | 3/54 (6%) | 4/40 (10%) | |
At least one mental health intervention. | 22/56 (39%) | 26/51 (51%) | 28/54 (52%) | 24/40 (60%) | |
At least one mental health intervention excluding general advice. | 14/56 (25%) | 17/51 (33%) | 21/54 (39%) | 19/40 (48%) | |
Insomnia | No applicable—no sleep problems. | 12/68 (18%) | 8/58 (14%) | 8/62 (13%) | 7/47 (15%) |
Ordering tests to check if you have treatment medical conditions that can cause sleep problems, such as blood tests for hormone imbalances or polysomnography for sleep apnea. | 2/56 (4%) | 4/50 (8%) | 5/54 (9%) | 5/40 (13%) | |
Advice on healthy sleeping habits (sleep hygiene), such as using your bed only for sleep, maintaining a regular sleep schedule and avoiding naps. | 20/56 (36%) | 12/50 (24%) | 15/54 (28%) | 14/40 (35%) | |
Advice on lifestyle factors that promote good sleep, such as getting light and exercise during the day, and avoiding alcohol, caffeine and heavy meals close to bedtime | 21/56 (38%) | 13/50 (26%) | 16/54 (30%) | 14/40 (35%) | |
Medications to improve your sleep. | 14/56 (25%) | 9/50 (18%) | 15/54 (28%) | 11/40 (29%) | |
At least one insomnia intervention. | 26/56 (46%) | 17/50 (34%) | 28/54 (52%) | 24/40 (60%) |
The denominator for the ‘not applicable’ ratings represents the total number of patients who provided a response to each symptom, at each timepoint. The numerator of that proportion (ie, number of patients who reported ‘not applicable’, meaning that they did not experience that symptom) was subtracted from the denominator for all of the treatment variables. This way, the proportions for the treatment variables represent the number of patients who were provided, referred or prescribed a particular treatment for that particular symptom relative to the number of patients who endorsed having that symptom.