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The Article in Brief
COOP/WONCA Charts as a Screen for Mental Disorders in Primary Care
Joao Mazzoncini de Azevedo-Marques , and colleagues
Background Questionnaires can be used to facilitate the screening of mental disorders in the primary care setting. This study evaluates the validity and feasibility of the COOP/WONCA Charts, a brief 6-item pictorial assessment for routine screening of mental disorders, by comparing it with other validated questionnaires and the assessment of a mental health specialist using structured diagnostic interview.
What This Study Found The COOP/WONCA Charts is valid and feasible for use by primary health care teams in screening for mental disorders. When administered to 120 primary care patients, the tool had accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values ranging between 0.77 and 0.92 compared with previously validated questionnaires. Clinicians who administered the questionnaires rated its understandability, ease of use, and clinical relevance as satisfactory.
Implications
- Because the tool is friendly, brief, easily understood and can be administered and scored by all team members, it is a useful screening tool for the primary care setting, where there are many competing demands and time constraints.