title: Design and development of a mental health assessment and intervention system.
abstract: Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability and functional impairment in the United States (1 in 5). The negative effect of mental health disorders is felt both in the personal and public lives of the affected individuals, particularly in the workplace where it adversely impacts productivity. Only a small fraction of the affected people in the work force seeks help. The cost to employers and the economy of these untreated individuals is staggering. Some employers have tried to address employees' emotional well-being by establishing Employee Assistance Programs. Yet, even these programs do not sufficiently address existing barriers to the detection and treatment of mental health disorders in the workplace. This paper describes the design of an automated workplace program that uses an Interactive, computer-assisted telephonic system (Interactive Voice Response or IVR) to assess workers for a variety of mental health disorders and subsequently refers untreated and inadequately treated workers to appropriate treatment settings.
authors.affiliation: Medical Information Systems Unit, Boston University Medical Campus, Massachusetts 02118, USA. rfarzanf@bu.edu
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farzanfar
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vachon
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Locke
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation; D003201:Computers; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D017216:Telemedicine; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D017132:Workplace