[The development and testing of a screening instrument for psychosocial needs assessment within acute psychiatric...

A new instrument (PSH-7) was developed and tested in practice for the standardised assessment of psychosocial support needs in acute psychiatric care.Based on a mixed-methods approach, this instrument was tested in a cross-sectional study (N=84) using quantitative (descriptive evaluation and univariate analysis of variance) and qualitative methods (qualitative content analysis) for its suitability for practical use.The PSH-7 proved to be a suitable instrument for recording the need for help. Loneliness, lack of daily structure and unemployment are the most frequently mentioned needs for help in the context of acute psychiatric care.The study supplements the international findings on the connection between psychosocial stress factors and the maintenance of mental illness. There should be an early focus on perspective planning and the organisation of a sustainable outpatient support network.