Assessing Functioning across Common Mental Disorders in Psychiatric Emergency Patients: Results from the WHODAS-2.

OBJECTIVE

Assessing global functioning in psychiatric emergency settings is important for clinicians to estimate severity of mental disorders, devise a treatment plan, and assess the evolution of their patients' progression over time. The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule-2.0 (WHODAS-2) measures psychological, social, and professional functioning and is recommended as a standardized instrument of choice for use in psychiatric settings. Yet, studies investigating disability profiles of mental disorders using the WHODAS-2 are scarce, and psychometric properties have not been evaluated in a psychiatric emergency context. We describe and compare WHODAS-2 (12-item version) scores across mental disorders (anxiety, mood, psychotic, personality, and substance abuse) in adults admitted to psychiatric emergency.

METHODS

Data from the Signature Bank were used. Participants admitted to psychiatric emergency completed the WHODAS-2 at admission ( = 1,125). Mental disorders were evaluated by psychiatrists, and WHODAS-2 scores were compared across groups. Psychometric properties were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

RESULTS

Higher mean WHODAS-2 scores were reported by those with anxiety, mood, and personality disorders ( < 0.001) compared to other psychopathologies. The measure showed good internal consistency (global score α = 0.88; domain subscores α = 0.59 to 0.85) and acceptable goodness of fit indices in CFA confirming the original structure of WHODAS-2.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this large-scale study could assist clinicians in interpreting WHODAS-2 scores in psychiatric populations and provide a more detailed portrait of disability profiles associated with different clinical diagnoses.