Computerized Assessment and Referral System Screener for Mental Health Evaluations in the Emergency Setting

Mental Health Clinical Trial

— CARS-SA  

Official title:

The Utility of the Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS) Screener for Mental Health Evaluations in the Emergency Setting

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03323853
• Other study ID #: 206914
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: December 30, 2017
• Est. completion date: December 21, 2019

Study information

• Verified date: June 2021
• Source: University of Arkansas
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This is a hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial which will be conducted at the emergency department (ED) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The hypothesis of this study is that use of the CARS (a computerized mental health screener) will modify emergency department treatment of patients with previously undiagnosed mental illness.

Description:

This pragmatic mixed methods clinical trial will compare the intervention of providing a CARS screener report to emergency providers to not providing the report. It will also collect qualitative data regarding implementation of the CARS screener and report. Consecutive patients presenting when a research associate is available will be approached to participate. Patients will be approached after evaluation by an emergency physician.

The Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS) is based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), a validated instrument for assessing mental health diagnoses.CARS was piloted at 6 different sites in 2016, all in DUI populations. As CARS has not been specifically validated on non-DUI populations, investigators will collect alcohol history (see below). The CARS self-assessment version (CARS-SA) will be utilized in this study.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 451
• Est. completion date: December 21, 2019
• Est. primary completion date: December 21, 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• >18 years of age

• Not incarcerated

• English-speaking and English-writing (as translators will not be available for this study)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable or unwilling to complete CARS screener

• Unable or unwilling to provide any history of alcohol abuse

• Currently presenting with a chief complaint of a psychiatric symptom

• Currently presenting with a substance use complaint

• History of a known psychiatric condition

• Patients taking psychiatric medication

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Emergencies
• Mental Health

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS) Self-Assessment Screener
Subjects will take the CARS-SA Screener.
• CARS-SA Summary Results
Subjects will be evaluated by emergency care providers using the CARS-SA Summary Results Report.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences	Little Rock	Arkansas

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Arkansas

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Number of Participants With CARS Mental Health Diagnoses Made in the ED; the Number of Psychiatry Evaluations in the Emergency Department (ED); and the Number of Mental Health Referrals Made From the ED	The composite measure includes: the number of CARS mental health diagnoses made in the ED; the number of psychiatry evaluations in the emergency department (ED); and the number of mental health referrals made from the ED.	Up to 12 hours