General characteristics

A migraine is a neurological disorder similar to a severe headache. It that causes acute throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head, extending to the eyes and forehead. Migraine attacks can last for 2-72 hours, and often interfere with migraine sufferer's daily activities.

Symptoms often include:

• nausea
• vomiting
• extreme sensitvity to
  • light
  • sound
• auras (eg. blinking light)
• numbness in the
  • limbs
  • face
  • tongue
  • face

What are the challenges for equitable access?

Most of the challenges for equitable access for people with migraines arise from symptoms lasting after attacks. This can include:

• Needing more time on assignments or work due to being unable to read due to attack and post-attack symptoms.
• Needing more low-contrast or dim options on light displays due to increased sensitivity to light.
  • Examples: bright white backgrounds on web pages, presentations, and articles.
• Needing warning, lower volume, or low motion/flashing due to increased sensitivity to flashing/sudden movements and loud noises.
  • Examples: present in TV shows, advertisements, and everyday life.

What are barriers?

There are many barriers to equitable access.

1. Many presentations/publications online have bright white backgrounds that cannot be adjusted.
2. It takes longer for people to wait for materials to be given in different formats, as well as time to wait for symptoms to subside.
3. Advertisements often are unskippable or embedded onto a site and frequently use bright and flashy graphics.

What technologies help overcome barriers?

There are many new technological solutions being developed, as well as changes in design norms that are helping to overcome the barriers that those with migraines face.

1. It's more common for sites and software (ex. Apple, Windows UI) to include both a dark and light mode, which can reduce eye strain.
   • Some software/sites offer automatic dark mode which also try to automatically convert a site with no dark mode to be in dark mode. (ex. "Chrome's "Force Dark Mode" and iPhone's "Smart Invert")
   • Additionally, there has been research done that has found that green light has the least strain on those with migraine, so having an option for a green filter may also be helpful. (Fun fact: it's why this page is green!)
2. There is almost always is an option to adjust audio.
3. There are also now often adjustments for contrast, font-size, and amount of motion.
4. Adblockers can entirely remove ads, allowing them to bypass any flashing or sudden sounds from them.
5. Many media now also include warnings for flashing lights, sudden noises, etc. which can allow those with migraine to avoid them.

There are two main ways of getting access to the same materials, which is either going through the conventional routes with adjustments or using technologies that were originally intended for other disabilities.

For example, the task of reading a slidedeck from a professor who only made the presentation available with a bright white background and straining colors.

In the first method, a person with migraine might:

• taking medications to manage symptoms
• wear sunglasses to deal with the eye strain
• adjust the display settings of their device
• taking frequent breaks between reading
• requesting an extension so that they can read it once their symptoms have subsided

In the second method, a person with migraine might:

• use a text-to-speech program to read the material

Is it equitable?

Some methods of getting access are equitable, such as volume and display adjustment options, which are generally included in the default versions of programs.

Others, like taking medication or requesting extensions, put additional stress (by taking up extra monetary or time cost) on the person with migraine.

There are many new technologies being developed to assist those with migraine in both everyday life as well as diagnosis.

• Apps to help track migraines and correlated symptoms with life style habits or other patterns.
• Computerized migraine diagnostic tools, which have increased in frequency from two in 1986 to sixteen in 2021.
• Virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) treatment to reduce perception of head pain or to provide biofeedback sessions for other symptoms.
• Use of blockchain technology to improve scalability and data security of digital migraine tools.
• Ingestible sensors to measure gastroparesis, gut metabolomics, or gut-brain axis involvement in migraine.
• Low-intensity green-light lightbulbs or sunglasses that filter just green light out to reduce migraine.

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