The Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory (HDI)

The Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory helps doctors measure how headaches impact daily life. This self-report tool tracks emotional and functional changes caused by severe head pain.

Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory (HDI) PDF questionnaire for assessing headache impact.
HDI

Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory (HDI)

The Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory (HDI) is a 25-item tool assessing how headaches impact daily life. By measuring functional and emotional factors, it helps clinicians track treatment progress. It's a practical way to understand the burden of chronic headaches on a patient's overall wellbeing.

Category

Physical health
Mental health
Wellbeing

Disease

Assessment
Quality of Life
Clinical Measurement

Source

(Jacobson et al., 1994)

Author Name

Jacobson, G.P., Ramadan, N.M., Aggarwal, S.K. & Newman, C.W. (1994)

What is Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory (HDI)

The Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory (HDI) is a trusted tool for measuring how headaches impact daily life. It helps clinicians track patient progress effectively. Developed to quantify the burden of headache disorders, this questionnaire with 20 items looks at specific limitations. It splits items into functional and emotional categories to spot issues. Patients answer questions with "yes," "sometimes," or "no" to generate a total score out of 100. The scale covers emotional distress and functional limits caused by pain, so it gives a clear picture of disability severity. It takes just five minutes to complete, making it easy to fit into busy appointments. Doctors use it to check if treatments are working for migraines or tension type headaches. Since it is reliable for repeated use, the HDI supports better decision making in ongoing therapy plans and patient care.

HDI Scoring

The Henry Ford Headache Disability Inventory can be scored using a straightforward point system. For each of the 20 questions, you assign values based on the patient's answer: Yes gets 4 points, Sometimes gets 2, and No gets 0. You then tally these up for a total score ranging from 0 to 100. Higher numbers mean the headaches are hitting harder on daily life. It is also handy to calculate separate functional and emotional subscale scores to pinpoint specific struggles. A total score above 60 usually suggests severe disability, which helps doctors monitor changes over time.

View scoring form

Advantages

Treatment planning

Develops personalised strategies based on assessment data.

Outcome tracking

Measures healthcare intervention results systematically.

Reliable data

Provides consistent measurements for clinical research.

Efficient collection

Streamlines research data gathering process.

10
Minutes
25
Questions

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