Measures of Physical Health and their Importance for Mental Health
We all know the body and the mind are intimately connected, which is why NovoPsych also has assessments that focus on elements of physical health that interact with mental health. Most recently we’ve added a measure of fatigue, to accompany other measures relevant to chronic pain, fibromyalgia and alcohol dependance. We hope you find these assessments focused on the physical aspects of wellbeing useful!
The Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) is a 10-item self-report scale evaluating symptoms of fatigue (especially chronic fatigue). Fatigue is a major problem in a wide range of (chronic) diseases, is the most frequently described symptom, and is globally recognised as disabling. This scale can be useful in tracking fatigue over time in the context of psychiatric conditions, physical illness, or chronic fatigue syndrome.
There are two subscales:
Mental fatigue – cognitive impacts of fatigue for the client (e.g. lack of motivation, problems beginning tasks, problems thinking).
Physical fatigue – physical impacts of fatigue for the client (e.g. physical exhaustion, lack of energy).
The Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) is a 10-item questionnaire to assess the confidence people with ongoing pain have in performing activities while in pain. The PSEQ is applicable to all persisting pain presentations. It enquires into the level of self-efficacy regarding a range of functions, including household chores, socialising, work, as well as coping with pain without medication. It takes two minutes to complete and is helpful in assessing the impact that pain is having on a respondent’s life. The scale can be helpful in developing a formulation around psychological factors that influences someone’s response to injury or unpleasant physical sensations. The scale is predictive of functional gains after injury.
The TSK is a 17-item self report scale that was developed as a measure of fear of movement or (re)injury. Kinesiophobia is defined by the developers as “an irrational, and debilitating fear of physical movement and activity resulting from a feeling of vulnerability to painful injury or re-injury”. The scale has two subscales:
Activity Avoidance – the belief that activity may result in (re)injury or increased pain
Somatic Focus – the belief in underlying and serious medical problems
Scores are presented in percentile terms in comparison to patients with chronic back pain and Fibromyalgia.
The AUDIT is a self-report scale designed to measure harmful alcohol use. It is useful for routine screening in community health settings and was developed in conjunction with the World Health Organisation. It is sensitive to three factors of problematic alcohol use:
