Migraine is a chronic condition that can result in substantial disability, with impacts similar to other chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma.
In the US, an estimated 28 million people suffer from severe migraine headaches at a cost of about $13 billion per year to US employers (Hu, 1999).
What is a migraine headache?
The condition is most common between 30 and 49 years of age, typically the most productive work years.
About 18% of women and 6.5% of men suffer from migraine headaches.
Furthermore, only 48% of those suffering from migraines have been diagnosed by a physician.
How do we know this?
For the individual who experiences migraine headaches, the condition can have a profound impact on quality of life.
For the employer, missed work and reduced effectiveness on the job can be substantial.
The Migraine Module of the Productivity Impact Model is designed to help estimate the costs of migraine headaches to your company and the economic benefit of appropriate treatment.
It has been developed based on information from peer-reviewed journals.
The cost savings estimated by this model consider only the economic benefit that will accrue from reducing absenteeism and improving productivity at work.
Of course, there are many other benefits of treating migraines that are more difficult to translate into economic savings.
For example, the impact on employee quality of life is not measured in this model. We have not tried to attach an economic value to society when a nurse's ability to care for a patient is affected, or when a mother is unable to take care of her children because of a migraine.
Missing family or social outings can also have a tremendous impact on quality of life.
All of these situations can affect morale when an employee is on the job.
The model does not try to measure these important costs.
How much does migraine cost your company? Start the model to find out…
