What is the proportion of improvement in studies exploring monitoring of headaches via online or paper based methods?
Item
- Title
- What is the proportion of improvement in studies exploring monitoring of headaches via online or paper based methods?
- Author(s)
- Singadia, A
- Abstract
- Background The most effective interventions for headache on a population is based on frequency, intensity and duration which can be found using a headache diary. The headache diary can be used to record pain intensity, headache frequency and tiredness. Objectives The aim of this study was to critically appraise literature conducted over the past 10 years regarding whether the use of a smartphone application or paper based method shows a greater improvement to monitor headaches using headache diaries in terms of duration, progression, intensity and if studies show a common trend of the same patient reported outcome measures and also if similar triggers are shown in each study. Design A structured Literature Review. Method Electronic databases were reviewed and the articles were scanned and filtered to find which ones were answering the research question of the past '10 years. The searches were filtered using inclusion and exclusion criteria. The appropriate articles were then summarized into a two tables; one for electronic headache diaries and another which was for paper based headache diaries. Results There were 13 studies which met the inclusion criteria from which the data was extracted and summarized. All 13 studies were ranked according to Sackett's hierarchy or evidence and the studies varied from a level 2 of evidence to level 5 in order to determine the study design. All studies reviewed showed an improvement in monitoring headaches with paper based method showing a 50% reduction in headache days. above 2/7 app based studies show improvement in monitoring headaches compared to 3/6 paper based studies and this shows that paper based studies had a higher proportion of improvement compared to app based studies. The patient reported outcome measures found from the studies were trigger factors, headache frequency, headache intensity, duration of the headache and the location. DiscussionThe strengths of the research in this review was that the data from the headache participants was easy to capture and the applications are readily available providing there is a smarlphone. However the limitations were that there could be poor signal in a rural remote area limiting the use of a smartphone application and therefore limiting the recording of data. Conclusion There was an improvement noted in paper based studies when using a headache diary to monitor headaches with a 50% reduction in headache days on average. However for online diaries there was also an improvement noted with higher P values noted compared to paper based diaries but patient were reporting more the ease of use rather than outcomes of the app itself. However the review showed where there were limitation in research and how there needs to be further research exploring the research question.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2018
- Date Submitted
- 25.1.2019 17:18:25
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 16410
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Headache
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Singadia, A, “What is the proportion of improvement in studies exploring monitoring of headaches via online or paper based methods?”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 5, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/354