Headache disability evaluation and impairment assessment in the Italian Health Care and Welfare System

Headache is a public health problem concern to impairment of physical, social and emotional functioning, both in everyday life and in work activities, with a significant economic impact in terms of direct and indirect costs. The diagnosis of headache is often difficult, as it is based on the patient’s subjectivity and objective signs can sometimes be lacking. Several specific questionnaires have been developed to measure its severity, associated disabilities, the effects on quality of life, disability and the overall impact of chronic headache (HRQoL, MIDAS, HIT-6). In Italy, the citizens who suffer from headaches may relate to certain forms of social protection as the Law 68/1988 (“employment of people with disabilities”), the Law 104/92 (“framework law for the assistance, social integration and rights of disabled people”) and the recognition of disability (Ministerial Decree of 5 February 1992 “approval of new tables of disabling diseases”).