Tools for diagnosing migraine and measuring its severity

Migraine remains substantially underdiagnosed and undertreated in the United States. Tools to screen for migraine and to measure headache-related disability can help address barriers to effective diagnosis and treatment. In this article, public health criteria for screening programs for any medical condition are first reviewed. Modifications of these criteria for migraine and other chronic/episodic disorders are then proposed. Migraine is assessed to determine how well it meets criteria for screening and the steps that are necessary before firm public policy recommendations for screening for migraine are possible.