Electronic-Diary for Recording Headaches, Triggers, and Medication Use: Development and Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Traditional paper diaries have been used for decades to track headache symptoms and treatment outcomes.
• Paper diaries have limited evidence of reliability and validity, and are burdensome for participants and researchers.
• A new e-diary offers a digital alternative for headache data collection, compatible with various internet-connected devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of a newly developed e-diary for headache management.
• To assess user-friendliness, participant compliance, and data accuracy compared to traditional paper diaries.
• To determine the e-diary's suitability for clinical trials in headache treatment.

Main Methods:

• 181 participants (headache/migraine sufferers) were randomized into e-diary and paper diary groups.
• Participants completed baseline and post-diary questionnaires (e.g., Headache Disability Inventory, SF-36, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales).
• Diary data (frequency, intensity, duration, medication use) were collected over 30 days.

Main Results:

• E-diaries demonstrated strong test-retest reliability (r=0.68-0.79) for key headache measures.
• Good convergent and divergent validity was shown for e-diary measures against established questionnaires.
• E-diaries had significantly less missing data and were rated as easier to use than long paper diaries.

Conclusions:

• The evaluated e-diary is a reliable and valid tool for headache research.
• E-diaries offer advantages over paper diaries in terms of data completeness and user experience.
• This e-diary is a valuable tool for clinical trials investigating behavioral treatments for headaches.