Original Research

The validation of the visual screening tool for anxiety disorders and depression in hypertension and/or diabetes

Zimbini Ogle, Liezl Koen, Dana J.H. Niehaus
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine | Vol 10, No 1 | a1722 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1722 | © 2018 Zimbini Ogle, Liezl Koen, Dana J.H. Niehaus | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 14 December 2017 | Published: 14 November 2018

About the author(s)

Zimbini Ogle, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Liezl Koen, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; and, Stikland Psychiatric Hospital, Bellville, South Africa
Dana J.H. Niehaus, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; and, Stikland Psychiatric Hospital, Bellville, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Depression and anxiety disorders remain poorly detected at primary health care, particularly in patients with hypertension and/or diabetes. A visual screening tool for anxiety disorders and depression (VISTAD) has been developed, but not validated.

Aim: To validate the VISTAD in primary health care participants diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes.

Setting: Participants were recruited from five primary health care centres in the Eastern Cape, South Africa (urban, peri-urban and rural).

Methods: The study used a cross-sectional study design to validate the VISTAD. The VISTAD was validated against the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I) using field testing. A demographic questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-economic variables.

Results: Sixty-nine (87%) females and 10 (13%) males with a mean age of 49 (SD 8.6844) participated in the study. Fifty black people (63%), 16 mixed race people (20%) and 13 white people (16%) participated in the study. The majority of the participants (77%) did not complete high school. The area under curve score (AUC) for the VISTAD in screening for depression was 0.91, and for anxiety disorders, 0.87 post-traumatic stress disorder, 0.87 panic disorder, 0.85 social phobia, 0.88 agoraphobia, and 0.83 generalised anxiety disorder revealing acceptable psychometric properties.

Conclusion: The use of the VISTAD as a screening tool at primary health care in people living with hypertension and/or diabetes is recommended. The VISTAD could, therefore, play a key role in the prevention and early treatment of individuals diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes across cultures and levels of education. The VISTAD needs to be validated in a large population representative of primary care patients diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes.


Keywords

screening; visual screening tool; depression; anxiety

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