PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

The psychometric characteristics of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) in help-seeking youth: What do you miss when using it as an outcome measure?

This is the first study to describe psychometric properties of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) in a large cohort of help-seeking young people presenting to primary mental health care services. The aim was to determine whether the K6 was appropriate for monitoring outcomes in such settings. 1067 young people were recruited from Australian headspace services...

Predicting Quality Adjusted Life Years in young people attending primary mental health services

**Background** Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) are often used in economic evaluations, yet utility weights for deriving them are rarely directly measured in mental health services. ***Objectives** We aimed to: (i) identify the best Transfer To Utility (TTU) algorithms and predictors for adolescent weighted Assessment of Quality of Life - six dimensions (AQoL-6D) health utility and (ii) assess ability of TTU algorithms to predict longitudinal change. *Methods** We recruited 1107 young people attending Australian primary mental health services, collecting data at two time points, three months apart. Five linear and three generalised linear models were explored to identify the best TTU algorithm...