title: PROQSY: a computerised technique for psychiatric case identification in general practice.
abstract: Two-stage screening for minor psychiatric morbidity was carried out with a consecutive sample of 256 patients aged 15-69 consulting an experienced GP in a semirural setting over a seven-week period. Patients completed a short GHQ, and the GP made a standardised assessment of the reason for consultation and the degree of psychological disorder. A 40% random subsample were evaluated using PROQSY, a newly developed computerised psychiatric assessment based on the CIS. PROQSY is acceptable to patients in general practice, and yields an estimate of the prevalence of minor psychiatric morbidity (33%), and validity indices for the 12-item, 28-item, and 30-item GHQs, comparable with those found in similar studies, when the CIS has been administered by an interviewer. PROQSY may be recommended as a research tool, providing a criterion measure of minor psychiatric morbidity in general practice, where it may reduce time and manpower, and eliminate interviewer bias.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Thame Health Centre.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Markus
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008838:Microcomputers; D008875:Middle Aged; D010556:Personality Tests / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012803:Sick Role; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis