title: Validity of the Depression-Arkansas (D-ARK) Scale: a tool for measuring major depressive disorder.
abstract: The results of 2 validation studies for an assessment tool designed specifically for quality improvement and outcomes assessment efforts in mental healthcare are presented in this paper. The studies evaluated a new tool to assess the patient outcomes for major depressive disorder following treatment in routine clinical settings called the Depression-Arkansas Scale (D-ARK). Study 1 included 54 patients recruited from 3 hospital-based clinics (2 mental health clinics and 1 primary care clinic). Study 2 includes 827 patients from 5 clinical settings including a university based outpatient clinic, a VA based mental health clinic, and a managed-care program. These 2 very different studies provide preliminary evidence that the D-ARK may be a useful tool for quality improvement efforts in the mental healthcare setting. Specifically, they indicate that the D-ARK has strong validity when compared to 2 different research assessments, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Patient Edition (SCID-P) and the Inventory to Diagnose Depression (IDD), and compared to clinical assessments using both the clinical diagnosis and a clinician checklist.
authors.affiliation: Center for Mental Healthcare Research, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock 72205, USA. smithgrichard@uams.edu
authors.forename: G Richard
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Jan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hollenberg
authors.forename: Cindy L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mosley
authors.forename: Robin L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burnam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001131:Arkansas; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index