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Validation of the “early detection Primary Care Checklist” in an Italian community help‐seeking sample: The “checklist per la Valutazione dell'Esordio Psicotico”
Author(s) -
Pelizza Lorenzo,
Raballo Andrea,
Semrov Enrico,
Chiri Luigi Rocco,
Azzali Silvia,
Scazza Ilaria,
Garlassi Sara,
Paterlini Federica,
Fontana Francesca,
Favazzo Rosanna,
Pensieri Luana,
Fabiani Michela,
Cioncolini Leonardo,
Pupo Simona
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.12455
Subject(s) - checklist , psychology , mental health , clinical psychology , population , primary care , gold standard (test) , at risk mental state , psychosis , psychiatry , medicine , family medicine , environmental health , cognitive psychology
Background To establish the concordant validity of the “Checklist per la Valutazione dell'Esordio Psicotico” ( CVEP ) in an Italian help‐seeking population. The CVEP is the Italian adaptation of the “early detection Primary Care Checklist,” a 20‐item tool specifically designed to assist primary care practitioners in identifying young people in the early stages of psychosis. Methods The checklist was completed by the referring practitioners of 168 young people referred to the “Reggio Emilia At Risk Mental States” Project, an early detection infrastructure developed under the aegis of the Regional Project on Early Detection of Psychosis in the Reggio Emilia Department of Mental Health. The concordant validity of the CVEP was established by comparing screen results with the outcome of the “Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States” ( CAARMS ), a gold standard assessment for identifying young people who may be at risk of developing psychosis. Results The simple checklist as originally conceived had excellent sensitivity (98%), but lower specificity (58%). Using only a CVEP total score of 20 or above as cut‐off, the tool showed a slightly lower sensitivity (93%) with a substantial improvement in specificity (87%). Simple cross‐tabulations of the individual CVEP item scores against CAARMS outcome to identify the more discriminant item in terms of sensitivity and specificity were carried out. Conclusions In comparison to other, much longer, screening tools, the CVEP performed well to identify young people in the early stages of psychosis. Therefore, the CVEP is well suited to optimize appropriate referrals to specialist services, building on the skills and knowledge already available in primary care settings.