March, Sonja and Kenardy, Justin A. and Cobham, Vanessa E. and Nixon, Reginald D. V. and McDermott, Brett and De Young, Alexandra (2015) Feasibility of a screening program for at-risk children following accidental injury. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28 (1). pp. 34-40. ISSN 0894-9867
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Abstract
Screening is recommended as a simple method for identifying those who should be monitored for risk following trauma. Effective methods for implementing large-scale screening programs are yet to be established. This study tested the feasibility and utility of a screening program with hospitalized youth exposed to injury in 3 Australian hospitals. A total of 1,134 eligible families were contacted and 546 children (48.0%) screened for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk at 1-2 weeks postinjury. There were 95 (17.4%) children whose screen result was at-risk. A re-screening phase was introduced during the study, with 68 children completing the re-screen at 4-6 weeks postinjury, and 26 (38.2% of those re-screened) still at-risk. Of those initially screened, 29 (5.3%) completed diagnostic assessments, 21 (3.8%) were diagnosed with partial or full PTSD, and 17 (3.1%) commenced treatment. Screening was successful at identifying and reaching children with PTSD, but the response rate was lower than expected, which limited the utility of the program. The addition of a re-screening phase demonstrated that not all at-risk children required intervention. These findings replicate previous studies that have shown natural remission in PTSD symptoms and highlight the potential for re-screening as part of a watchful waiting approach.
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| Item Type: | Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C) |
|---|---|
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Accepted version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
| Faculty / Department / School: | Current - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Jun 2016 05:21 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Mar 2017 03:24 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | child; injury; screening; PTSD; risk |
| Fields of Research : | 11 Medical and Health Sciences > 1103 Clinical Sciences > 110319 Psychiatry (incl. Psychotherapy) 11 Medical and Health Sciences > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111714 Mental Health 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170106 Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology |
| Socio-Economic Objective: | C Society > 92 Health > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920410 Mental Health |
| Identification Number or DOI: | 10.1002/jts.21981 |
| URI: | http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/26981 |
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