Scope
In order to define core elements, a prioritization of frequently asked diagnoses is first carried out. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mood disorders are the most frequently diagnosed disorder group (n = 320 million), closely followed by anxiety disorders (n = 301 million). Furthermore, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, eating disorders, behavioral disorders and dissocial disorders, but also neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental development disorders, autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) play an important role. Since the group of affective disorders is the most frequently found disorder group, it is preferred by the mappers for further action.
Affective Disorders
Affective disorders refer to a group of mental health disorders primarily characterized by disturbances in mood or emotional state. These include Depressive disorders and Bipolar disorders. Depressive disorders are conditions like Major Depressive Disorder, where the individual experiences persistent feelings of sadness or loss of interest. A Bipolar disorder is marked by mood swings that include depressive episodes and manic episodes.
Patient/Parent Reported Outcome Measures
Patient/Parent Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are tools used to gather information directly from patients about their health condition. This information is collected without any interpretation from clinicians or other parties. PROMs often focus on aspects such as symptoms (e.g., pain, fatigue, mood), functional status (e.g., the ability to perform daily activities), and quality of life. In the case of Parent Reported Outcome Measures, these are used when assessing children or adolescents, with parents or caregivers providing reports on the child's symptoms, behavior, and overall well-being. This is especially important when the child is unable to reliably self-report.
Clinician Reported Outcome Measures
Clinician Reported Outcome Measures (CROMs), on the other hand, are assessments conducted by a healthcare professional based on their observations and clinical judgment. These measures provide a clinician's perspective on the patient's condition, which can include factors like the severity of symptoms, functional impairment, and the prognosis or expected course of the illness. CROMs complement PROMs by offering a professional evaluation of the patient's mental health.
Psychopathological Assessment
Finally, psychopathological assessment is the process through which a clinician evaluates an individual's mental health and psychological functioning. This assessment typically involves interviews, direct observation, and standardized questionnaires to help diagnose mental disorders. It aims to understand the nature of the symptoms the individual is experiencing. The assessment may include evaluations of cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and behavior, and often relies on diagnostic tools like the DSM-5 or ICD-10. Psychopathological assessments provide a comprehensive understanding of an individual's mental health, which is essential for effective treatment planning.
Picked Instruments for the GPDS
A pre-selection of validated questionnaires and interviews is listed in tabular form below. These are used in basic diagnostics in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry as well as in adult psychiatry for quantitative analyses, screening processes and scaling the severity of the disease in affective disorders. Changes to this pre-selection are possible in the course of the investigation of the research question, depending on the frequency of use and thus prioritization of the questionnaires in care. All questionnaires are validated and are used in the psychiatric facilities of the Charité. The questionnaires are divided into interviews (CROMs) and patient surveys and, in child and adolescent psychiatry, also into patient procedures and parent surveys (PROMs).
Fig.Instruments for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry