Objective.-To develop and validate a brief survey of migraine-related quali
ty-of-life issues. The Headache Needs Assessment (HANA) questionnaire was d
esigned to assess two dimensions of the chronic impact of migraine (frequen
cy and bothersomeness).
Methods.-Seven issues related to living with migraine were posed as ratings
of frequency and bothersomeness. Validation studies were performed in a We
b-based survey, a clinical trial responsiveness population, and a retest re
liability population, Headache characteristics (eg, frequency, severity, an
d treatment), demographic information, and the Headache Disability Inventor
y were used for external validation,
Results.-The HANA was completed in full by 994 adults in the Web survey, wi
th a mean total score of 77.98 +/- 40.49 (range, 7 to 175), There were no f
loor or ceiling effects. The HANA met the standards for validity with inter
nal consistency reliability (Cronbach alpha = .92, eigenvalue for the singl
e factor = 4.8, and test-retest reliability = 0.77), External validity show
ed a high correlation between HANA, and Headache Disability Inventory total
scores (0.73, P<.0001), and high correlations with disease and treatment c
haracteristics.
Conclusions.-These data demonstrate the psychometric properties of the HANA
, The brief questionnaire may be a useful screening tool to evaluate the im
part of migraine on individuals. The two-dimensional approach to patient-re
ported quality of life allows individuals to weight the impact of both freq
uency and bothersomeness of chronic migraines on multiple aspects of daily
life.