A 13-item Mental Wellness Tool detected common or severe mental disorders, substance use disorders and suicide risk among patients receiving psychiatric emergency department care at a New York City hospital, according to a Sept. 17 Medscape report.
Existing mental health screening tools typically assess for one disorder, and screening for a range of psychiatric conditions can take well over 45 minutes and require several assessment tools. The mwTool-13 is designed to screen for multiple conditions in a single assessment.
Here are six things to know:
1. The mwTool-13 can be administered in 2 to 10 minutes, according to a Sept. 3 study published in Psychiatric Services.
2. Investigators included 269 patients receiving ED psychiatric care between 2021 and 2022. The patients had a mean age of 40 years, 53% were female and 47% were Latinx.
3. The tool’s first three questions identified any mental disorder with 95% sensitivity. The remaining 10 questions categorize the type of mental disorder present.
4. The complete tool showed 97% sensitivity for common mental disorders and 93% sensitivity for suicide risk. Sensitivity was 80% for substance use disorders and 65% for severe mental disorders.
5. Specificity was 71% for severe mental disorders, 67% for common mental disorders, 58% for substance use disorders and 50% for suicide risk. Findings were largely consistent regardless of gender or race/ethnicity.
6. Study limitations included the use of a psychiatrist’s diagnosis as the standard comparator. Investigators also noted that the types of psychiatric conditions seen in an ED may differ from those in community settings.
At the Becker's Fall Behavioral Health Summit, taking place November 4–5 in Chicago, behavioral health leaders and executives will explore strategies for expanding access to care, integrating services, addressing workforce challenges and leveraging innovation to improve outcomes across the behavioral health continuum. Apply for complimentary registration now.
