This page contains standard health assessment tools that can be used for evaluating patients with deployment-related concerns and links to related web sites.
Standard Health Assessment Tools
Post Deployment Clinical Assessment Tool (PDCAT),
20 May 03
Form consisting of an array of brief standardized illness-specific screens and assessments which can be used in its entirety to assess and follow-up patients with post-deployment health concerns and illnesses. Many of the illness-specific sections can be used individually to follow severity of specific illnesses. Measures patient status in the following areas: somatic symptoms; PTSD; depression; anxiety and panic; functional status; alcohol use; frequency of healthcare visits; social support; and satisfaction with healthcare.
Patient Health QuestionnaireTM
Generic questionnaire used to screen and monitor patient status in the areas of: depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse and idiopathic physical symptoms. The PHQ-Brief has 8 questions, the PHQ-9 which deals with depression has 9 questions, and the PHQ has 16 questions.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL)
Self-administered quesionnaire with 17 questions for assessing trauma-related stress. Three different versions are available.
Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36)
Multipurpose health survey that measures overall health status, functional status, and health-related quality of life. It is a generic measure and its use is not restricted to a single disease state. It can be used to monitor specific and general populations to estimate disease burden and after deployment, it can be used to quantify the severity of an individual’s post-deployment health issue at any point in time as well as allowing comparisons of his or her health status over time.
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