CORE Neck Tool & Headache Navigator

The CORE Neck Tool & Headache Navigator has been designed to assist primary care providers in differentiating and assessing neck pain and headache, recognizing the complex challenges that providers face with physical assessment. Despite the often overlapping presentation of symptoms the tool has been created with discrete approaches to neck pain and headache. Developed as part of Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative under the clinical leadership of Drs. Julia Alleyne and Arun Radhakrishnan, the CORE Neck Tool guides providers to recognize common mechanical neck pain and screen for conditions. It has four main components:

• High yield history
• Targeted physical exam
• Management matrix
• Referral criteria

The Headache Navigator is designed to provide guidance in managing primary headache disorders and is based on the clinical practice guideline and quick reference algorithm for Primary Care Management of Headache in Adults that was produced by Towards Optimized Practice (TOP). The Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative is aimed at developing and disseminating health information and clinical tools to support primary care providers.  Its purpose is to improve engagement and enhance communication with primary care providers across Ontario and is a collaboration of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO) and the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP). Relevant Links:

• CORE Neck Tool & Headache Navigator
• Other Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative clinical tools:
  • Preventing Childhood Obesity Clinical Tool
  • Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers
  • Preconception Health Care Tool