ABSTRACT: The American Academy of Pediatrics called for action
for improved screening of mental health issues in the emergency
department (ED). We developed the rapid screening tool home,
education, activities/peers, drugs/alcohol, suicidality,
emotions/behavior, discharge resources (HEADS-ED), which is a
modification of "HEADS," a mnemonic widely used to obtain a
psychosocial history in adolescents. The reliability and
validity of the tool and its potential for use as a screening
measure are presented. ED patients presenting with mental health
concerns from March 1 to May 30, 2011 were included. Crisis
intervention workers completed the HEADS-ED and the Child and
Adolescent Needs and Strengths-Mental Health tool (CANS MH) and
patients completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI).
Interrater reliability was assessed by using a second HEADS-ED
rater for 20% of the sample. A total of 313 patients were
included, mean age was 14.3 (SD 2.63), and there were 182
females (58.1%). Interrater reliability was 0.