The Impact of Using Electronic Forms for Mental Health Assessments on Patient Honesty to Provide Mental Health Information
Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
25 February 2025
Abstract
Mental health screening is an important facet of primary care. This study examines the implications of using an electronic form (eForm) in medical offices when completing mental health assessments. A cross-sectional study was conducted using survey data from primary care patients (n = 4,879) regarding their experience using a tablet to complete mental health assessment forms during their appointment. This study investigated patients’ perception of their honesty and preferences when completing forms electronically. Nearly 40% of respondents stated they were able to be more honest when answering the questions digitally compared with a face-to-face interaction with their clinician. This research provides evidence of a potential benefit of digitally enhanced mental health screening.
Résumé
Le dépistage de la santé mentale est un aspect important des soins primaires. Cette étude examine les implications de l’utilisation d’un formulaire électronique (eForm) dans les cabinets médicaux pour remplir les évaluations de santé mentale. Une étude transversale a été menée à partir des données d’enquête auprès de patients en soins primaires (n = 4 879) concernant leur expérience avec l’utilisation d’une tablette pour remplir des formulaires d’évaluation de la santé mentale pendant leur rendez-vous. Cette étude a examiné la perception des patients de leur honnêteté et de leurs préférences lorsqu’ils remplissent des formulaires par voie électronique. Près de quarante pour cent des répondants ont déclaré qu’ils étaient capables d’être plus honnêtes lorsqu’ils répondaient aux questions par voie numérique par rapport à une interaction en face à face avec leur clinicien. Cette recherche fournit des preuves d’un avantage potentiel du dépistage de la santé mentale amélioré par voie numérique.
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Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
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Pages: 1 - 15
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Version of record online: 25 February 2025
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Lisa Harman, Lirije Hyseni, Marissa Barbosa, and Mohamed Alarakhia. The Impact of Using Electronic Forms for Mental Health Assessments on Patient Honesty to Provide Mental Health Information. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health.
e-First
https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2024-024
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