Headache App: Usability Assessment and Criterion Validity

Mobile applications show great potential for the assessment and registration of information regarding headaches. However, data on the content and usability of mobile applications for headache that are accessible to the public in European Portuguese are scarce, as well the criterion validity. Therefore, this article aims to search for and characterize the mobile applications related to headache in terms of content, usability and criterion validity. A search in the Android app store of applications was conducted. Four mobile applications were found in European Portuguese that matched a set of predefined criteria. These were characterized in terms of general characteristics, content, usability and criterion validity. Three of the applications were specific for headaches and one could be used for any type of pain, including headache. All applications allowed recording of pain characteristics and its extraction in a form of a report. In the discussion section several challenges related to the use of mobile applications in the assessment and management of headache are discussed.