The challenge
Mental health disorders place considerable burden on individuals and the healthcare system. This is especially the case when it comes to young adults aged 12 to 24 years.
For example, an estimated 1.2 million youth and young adults in Canada are affected by mental illness, with up to 75 percent of mental health problems presenting in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood. By age 25, approximately 20 percent of Canadians will have developed a mental illness.
A key requirement for effective, well-informed clinical intervention is the ability to quickly and precisely screen and assess the clinical and functional needs and priorities of young adults, and to reliably track treatment progress and effectiveness.
To meet this requirement, clinicians collect patient-reported data, typically by asking patients to fill out psychometric questionnaires. Yet clinicians often lack clear guidelines for interpreting the numerical scores obtained from such instruments and for ‘translating’ them into clinical decision-making. Additionally, many instruments in current use are unfit for use with young adults, or based on outdated psychometric methods.
This leads to clinical and institutional decisions that are based on sub-optimal information, and poses limitations to the quality of mental health services being provided to young adults.
For example, an estimated 1.2 million youth and young adults in Canada are affected by mental illness, with up to 75 percent of mental health problems presenting in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood. By age 25, approximately 20 percent of Canadians will have developed a mental illness.
A key requirement for effective, well-informed clinical intervention is the ability to quickly and precisely screen and assess the clinical and functional needs and priorities of young adults, and to reliably track treatment progress and effectiveness.
To meet this requirement, clinicians collect patient-reported data, typically by asking patients to fill out psychometric questionnaires. Yet clinicians often lack clear guidelines for interpreting the numerical scores obtained from such instruments and for ‘translating’ them into clinical decision-making. Additionally, many instruments in current use are unfit for use with young adults, or based on outdated psychometric methods.
This leads to clinical and institutional decisions that are based on sub-optimal information, and poses limitations to the quality of mental health services being provided to young adults.
The project
This project builds on recent research into the design of health measurement scales, which suggests that such scales can be used more effectively to guide clinical decisions. To realize this goal, we are:
In the long run, we plan to make this training available through an integrated, open-access repository that will feature recommended psychometric instruments and best-practice documents.
- consolidating existing knowledge on the appropriate selection, use, and interpretation of psychometric measures of mental illness in youth and young adults aged 12 to 24 years, with specific attention to young adults accessing youth-centred integrated mental health services.
- developing a conceptual and methodological framework we call 'metrology for mental health', and using it to study the benefits and limitations of psychometric methods in the context of youth mental healthcare.
- designing a new training that communicates this knowledge in a clear and accessible way, and delivering it to clinicians who provide mental health services to youth and young adults. Our pilot training event will take place in Vancouver in spring 2021, in partnership with Foundry.
In the long run, we plan to make this training available through an integrated, open-access repository that will feature recommended psychometric instruments and best-practice documents.
Our sponsors
This project is funded by a Canada Research Chairs grant (CRC-232588), 2019-2024; an FRQSC New Academics grant (NP-205463) "The Conceptual Foundations of Psychometrics", 2017-2020; an HBHL Knowledge Mobilization grant "Psychiatric Illness in Canadian Youth: Mobilizing Measurement to Improve Clinical Care", 2019-2020; and a McGill Arts Undergraduate Society ASEF grant "Measuring Quality of Life: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges", 2019.