Release of The World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0)

NovoPsych’s assessment library has been updated with the gold-standard measure for the impact disability is having on a person’s daily functioning. The World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) may be especially helpful in the context of assessments related to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and can provide a comprehensive measure of functional impacts. The WHODAS is a practical, generic assessment instrument that can measure health and disability at population level or in clinical practice. 

There are three versions of the WHODAS included in the NovoPsych test library: 

  1. The self-report version, which can be completed by individuals 18 years of age and over.
  2. The proxy version, which can be completed by a relative, carer, or friend.
  3. The interviewer version, which can be completed by a clinician.

WHODAS captures the level of functioning in six domains of life:

  1. Cognition – understanding and communicating
  2. Mobility – moving and getting around
  3. Self-care – attending to one’s hygiene, dressing, eating and staying alone
  4. Getting along – interacting with other people
  5. Life activities – domestic responsibilities, leisure, work and school
  6. Participation – joining in community activities, participating in society

Disability is a major health issue. When global assessments are made for burden of disease, more than half of the burden of premature mortality is due to overall disability. People generally seek psychological services because a disease makes it difficult for them to do what they used to do beforehand (i.e. because they are disabled) rather than because they have a disease. As outlined by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2010), diagnosis and assessment of disability is valuable because it can predict the factors that medical diagnosis alone fails to predict; these include:

  • service needs – What are the patient’s needs?
  • level of care – Should the patient be in primary care, specialty care, rehabilitation or another setting?
  • outcome of the condition – What will the prognosis be?
  • length of hospitalisation – How long will the patient stay as an inpatient?
  • receipt of disability benefits – Will the patient receive any funding?
  • work performance – Will the patient return to work and perform as before?
  • social integration – Will the patient return to the community and perform as before?

Disability assessment is thus useful for client care, especially in the context of NDIS funding applications, in terms of:

  • identifying needs
  • matching treatments and interventions
  • measuring outcomes and effectiveness
  • setting priorities
  • allocating resources

WHODAS provides a common metric of the impact of any health condition in terms of functioning. Being a generic measure, the instrument does not target a specific disease – it can thus be used to compare disability due to different diseases. WHODAS also makes it possible to design and monitor the impact of health and health-related interventions. The instrument has proven useful for assessing health and disability levels in the general population and in specific groups (e.g. people with a range of different mental and physical conditions). Furthermore, WHODAS makes it easier to design health and health related interventions, and to monitor their impact.

Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI)

March 25, 2022

The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) is a 20-item self-report measure to monitor how often individuals engaged in cognitive behavioural thought challenging interventions (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010). Cognitive flexibility enables individuals to think adaptively when encountering stressful life events, and is a core skill that helps individuals avoid becoming stuck in maladaptive patterns of thinking.

Developer

Dennis, J. P., & Vander Wal, J. S. (2010). The cognitive flexibility inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9276-4

References

Johnco, C., Wuthrich, V. M., & Rapee, R. M. (2014). Reliability and validity of two self-report measures of cognitive flexibility. Psychological Assessment, 26(4), 1381–1387. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038009

Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire – Believability (ATQ-B)

March 25, 2022

The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire – Believability (ATQ-B-15) (Netemeyer et al., 2002) is a 15-item self-report measure designed to assess the degree of believability of cognitions associated with depression. The scale does not measure the frequency of unhelpful thoughts, but rather measures the extent to which the client believes the thoughts to be true.

 

Developer

Netemeyer, R. G., Williamson, D. A., Burton, S., Biswas, D., Jindal, S., Landreth, S., Mills, G., & Primeaux, S. (2002). Psychometric properties of shortened versions of the automatic thoughts questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62(1), 111–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164402062001008

References

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York: Guilford Press. 

Hollon, S. D., & Kendall, P. C. (1980). Cognitive self-statements in depression: Development of an Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire.Cognitive Therapy and Research,4, 383-395.

Netemeyer, R. G., Williamson, D. A., Burton, S., Biswas, D., Jindal, S., Landreth, S., Mills, G., & Primeaux, S. (2002). Psychometric properties of shortened versions of the automatic thoughts questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62(1), 111–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164402062001008

Zettle, R. D., & Hayes, S. C. (1986). Dysfunctional control by client verbal behavior: The context of reason-giving. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 4, 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392813

Zettle, R. D., Rains, J. C., & Hayes, S. C. (2011). Processes of change in acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy for depression: a mediation reanalysis of Zettle and Rains. Behavior Modification, 35(3), 265–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445511398344

World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 – Interview (WHODAS-interview)

March 25, 2022

The World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) is a practical, generic assessment instrument that can measure health and disability at population level or in clinical practice (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2010).

Developer

Ustun, T.B, Kostanjsek, N., Chatterji, S., Rehm, J (Ed.). (2010). Measuring health and disability : manual for WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (‎WHODAS 2.0)‎. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/measuring-health-and-disability-manual-for-who-disability-assessment-schedule-(-whodas-2.0)

References

American Psychiatric Association. Online Assessment Measures. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/APA_DSM5_WHODAS-2-Self-Administered.pdf