Article Figures & Data
Tables
Additional Files
Supplemental Appendix
Supplemental Appendix. Lifestyle Assessment Form
Files in this Data Supplement:
- Supplemental data: Appendix - PDF file, 2 pages, 130 KB
The Article in Brief
Asking for Help Is Helpful: Validation of a Brief Lifestyle and Mood Assessment Tool in Primary Health Care
Felicity Goodyear-Smith , and colleagues
Background The CHAT is a simple tool to help identify risky health behaviors, such as inactivity and drug use, and mental health issues, such as depression, stress, or anger problems. For each of these issues, patients are asked whether they would like help with the problem. This study evaluates the benefit of asking patients whether they would like help.
What This Study Found Asking patients whether they would like help with the issues on the CHAT reduces false-positive results; people who have a positive CHAT question score and indicate they would like help with the issue are very likely to have the condition being assessed. Using the help question reduces the amount of time doctors spend during patient visits determining which patients require immediate help with particular issues.
Implications
- The CHAT's help question allows patients with multiple conditions to prioritize issues they want to address, indicates their readiness to change, and promotes self-determination. It helps clinicians decide which topics to pursue with patients.