About 10 million people in the US have co occurring mental health and chemical dependency disorders. One third of them have 3 disorders; one tenth have four disorders. Despite a substantial body of evidence based practice for co-occurring disorders services are fragmented, and fail to engage or adequately address people with both problems. Surveys of local providers consistently demonstrate that substance use disorders are not adequately identified in mental health, substance abuse, general health or non-health care settings. The value of screens in identifying mental health and substance abuse problems in primary care settings has been demonstrated, but there are limited tools that can be used by staff in public settings to identify clients who might benefit from a referral for in depth assessment and services for co-occurring disorders. Few have been demonstrated to screen accurately for these disorders among African American and Hispanic service users in public mental health and chemical dependency settings. We will present findings from two validation studies: one to validate a computer assisted screen for substance use disorders among people accessing mental health services and one to validate a paper and pencil screen to identify mental health problems among people accessing chemical dependency services. The local validation of these screens which will support active case finding in a wide range of public treatment settings is one of four statewide initiatives in New York State designed to lay the groundwork for co-ordinating services for co-occurring disorders.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to 1). understand the policy context for active case finding for co-occurring disorders; 2). evaluate the local validity of a screen for co-occurring disorders and 3). apply the described screen(s) to local conditions.
Keywords: Co-morbid, Screening Instruments
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center
University of South Florida
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.