Clinical Screening Questionnaires

When youth visit a Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) hub, they are asked to complete a series of clinical screening questionnaires to provide mental health, substance use, and other information to help the hub best meet their needs. This is part of YWHO’s focus on measurement-based care (MBC).

MBC is defined as a systematic evaluation of symptoms before or during an encounter, and using the results to inform decision-making about treatment at the individual level . The benefits of MBC include:

• Optimized accuracy,
• Efficiency and consistency of evaluating youth needs, 
• Enhanced ability to track goal achievement and detect symptom changes, and 
• Facilitated care coordination, and assistance in informing treatment decisions. 

At a broader level, aggregate data as part of MBC can be used to monitor the effectiveness of specific interventions and clinical programs, target areas of professional development and quality improvement, and demonstrate value to funders.

Screening, specifically, is a process for evaluating the possible presence of a particular problem. It involves asking carefully designed questions to determine whether or not a more thorough assessment is required. It does not typically collect diagnostic information. Screeners are usually brief and easy to administer/score, and require little or no special training to do so. Screening is a best practice and an important step in early identification and intervention, and increases referral to appropriate detailed assessments, services, and levels of intervention.

A list of the Clinical Screening Questionnaires is included below for quick reference:

• Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)/Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10W - Day 08-29)
• Global Appraisal of Individual Needs: Short Screener (GAIN-SSS)
• YWHO Substance Monitoring Form (YSMF)
• Self-Rated Health (SRH) + Self-Rated Mental Health (SRMH)
• Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
• Outcome Rating Scale (ORS)
• Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (Screen Version) (C-SSRS (Screen Version)) (Completed by service provider with youth)

Information regarding goals and session/service satisfaction is also gathered from youth:

• Goal-Based Outcomes (GBO)
• Session Rating Scale (SRS)
• Satisfaction with Services

Resources to help with building rapport with clients and their family members:

• Tips for building rapport with youth / Conseils pour établir des rapports avec les jeunes
• Tips for building clinical rapport with family members / Conseils pour établir des relations cliniques avec les membres de la famille

It is at service providers’ discretion if they would like to complete the optional GAIN-SS or SOFAS, which are available on the YWHO Data Collection platform.

The purpose of the clinical screening questionnaire training is to provide information to service providers about each clinical screener completed by youth when they are seeking clinical services at a YWHO hub.

This information includes purpose of the screener, number of items, screener questions, frequency of administration, alerts, scoring, and relation of scores to intensity level of services offered.

In terms of time to complete the screener tools on the YWHO Data Collection platform, some youth are able to complete them in approximately 15 minutes, while others need a little more time and may complete them in around 30 minutes or more. It is important that YHWO staff encourage youth to complete the screeners, even if it takes longer than anticipated, as this information plays a critical role in ensuring that the youth receives the most appropriate care.

If a young person requires assistance with an item due to developmental, cognitive, language, or other issues, try to provide these supports:

• Read all items aloud exactly as printed word for word, at an appropriate pace;
• If there is some misunderstanding, repeat the item;
• Determine which word is confusing and define the word, but try not to reword the question (it may alter the meaning of the question, as well as the response); and
• Do not suggest answers.

Some general examples of Low-Medium-High Level Intensity Services at YWHO hubs that may map onto youth’s screener results and other information include (*not a comprehensive list; services may differ across sites; family support may be offered across intensity levels*):

For further information or support regarding the clinical screening questionnaires, please contact Janis Wolfe (janis.wolfe@youthhubs.ca).