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Screening for Psychiatric Disorders in Medical Patients: A Feasibility and Patient Acceptance Study
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Screening for Psychiatric Disorders in Medical Patients: A Feasibility and Patient Acceptance Study

Mark Zimmerman, Neil Farber, Jon Hartung, David Lush and Mary Kuzma
Medical care, v 32(6), pp 603-608
Jun 1994
PMID: 8189777

Abstract

This study examines whether medical patients were bothered or upset by being asked to complete a questionnaire about emotional and substance use problems, and whether a newly developed, brief questionnaire that screens for several psychiatric disorders (the SCREENER) was easy for patients to complete. A consecutive series of outpatients attending the General Medical Clinic at the Philadelphia Veterans Affair Medical Center (VAMC) was approached to ask their participation in a research study requiring the completion of a brief questionnaire about their emotions, moods, thoughts, and behaviors, and a second questionnaire that asked their opinion about the first measure. Only 3.1% of the patients indicated that the questions were difficult to answer, whereas 84.6% found the questions easy or very easy to answer. Between 80% to 90% of the patients were not embarrassed, upset, annoyed, or uncomfortable by answering the questions. Individuals with a history of psychiatric treatment and poorer current mental health were the most likely to have a negative reaction to the questionnaire. Thus, the medical patients in this study reacted favorably to the completion of a broad-based questionnaire about emotional problems. The questions were judged easy to answer and rarely aroused significant negative affect.

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Web of Science research areas
Health Care Sciences & Services
Health Policy & Services
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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