Assessing Headache Triggers

This book synthesizes the current research on headache triggers and details how improving the measurement properties of trigger assessments can benefit clinical and research efforts. 

The book begins with a detailed exploration of the history of triggers and their use in attempts to assign causes to headache attacks. Subsequent chapters then expound on the existing schools of thought on headache triggers with discussions of understudied influences on the causal assignment process, such as the role of individual trigger beliefs and perceptions. After laying this groundwork, the practical application of trigger assessment is thoroughly detailed, including assessment design types and methods of analysis. Chapters then outline the applications of trigger assessment in research and clinical practice. To conclude, the book relays descriptions of future directions and evolving theories in the area.

Concise and comprehensive, Assessing Headache Triggers is an invaluable resource for clinicians who treat patients and investigators who aim to improve the lives of individuals with headache through their research. 

Dana P. Turner
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Boston, MA
USA
dpturner@mgh.harvard.edu

Dana P. Turner, MSPH, PhD is a clinical researcher and faculty member in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She holds degrees in both public health and research methodology with a concentration in statistical measurement. As a National Institutes of Health funded investigator, Dr. Turner is experienced in research design, measurement, and statistical analysis. Much of her research has focused on improving the lives of individuals with headache through the development of measurement techniques for health-related phenomena, especially those related to assessment of headache activity and headache triggers and the prediction of headache-related outcomes. She has published many peer-reviewed articles on the topics of trigger assessment and the measurement of headache activity. Dr. Turner also has focused her interests on the improvement of research methods in the headache field and is a specialist in peer review and research reporting.