Digital psychosocial assessment: An efficient and effective screening tool

Area of Science:

• Adolescent health
• Digital health tools
• Psychosocial assessment

Background:

• Young adults with chronic conditions face unique psychosocial challenges.
• Traditional HEEADSSS interviews require trained staff and extensive time.
• Digital self-report surveys offer a potential alternative for psychosocial assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the utility and information recorded by HEEADSSS-guided interviews versus digital self-report surveys.
• To evaluate the efficiency and disclosure rates of digital psychosocial screening tools.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 146 records from a pediatric hospital network.
• Comparison of face-to-face HEEADSSS interviews with digital survey data.
• Expert panel review and statistical comparison of data verification points.

Main Results:

• Digital surveys took an average of 15 minutes, significantly increasing disclosure rates across all psychosocial categories.
• Higher disclosure was noted in sensitive areas including emotions, drug use, sexuality, and safety.
• Digital surveys demonstrated greater efficiency and consistency compared to traditional interviews.

Conclusions:

• Digital surveys serve as a time-efficient psychosocial screening tool for young adults.
• Self-administered digital surveys can be implemented by non-trained staff, improving accessibility.
• Digital tools substantially increase the disclosure rate of critical psychosocial strengths and risks.