Edwin de Beurs
Background: There is a considerable gap between care provision and the demand for care for common mental disorders in low-and-middleincome countries. Screening for these disorders, e.g., in primary care, will help to close this gap. However, appropriate norms and threshold values for screeners of common mental disorders are lacking.
Method: We gathered data on frequently used screeners for alcohol use disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders in a representative sample from Suriname, a non-Latin American Caribbean country.
Results: Norms and crosswalk tables were established for the conversion of raw scores into a common metric: T-scores. Furthermore, recommended cut-off values on the T-score metric for severity levels were compared with international cut-off values for raw scores on these screeners. The appropriateness of these cut-offs and the value of converting raw scores into T-scores are discussed.
Conclusion: Cut-off values help with screening and early detection of those who are likely to have a common mental health disorder and may require treatment. Conversion to a common metric simplifies the interpretation of test results.
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