Our children’s version of the CAT-MH® has been validated for youth ages 7 to 17. The K-CAT® includes self-rated and parent/caregiver-rated modules for: depression, anxiety, mania, ADHD, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, substance use disorder (self-rated), and suicidality (self-rated).
REQUEST A DEMOFeatures of the K-CAT®
The K-CAT® is a distinct suite of computer adaptive tests (CAT) that represents a fundamental scientific breakthrough in child psychopathology screening and measurement based on the combination of child self-report and parent ratings of the child. Its applications in mental health measurement are widespread and can lead to dramatic savings for our healthcare system based on identifying high utilizers of physical healthcare services and providing a stepped care approach to treatment.
VALIDATED
The K-CAT® has been validated against semi-structured research interviews for youth ages 7 to 17 and published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals such as JAACAP.
LARGE ITEM BANK
The K-CAT® adaptively selects a small set of items from a large item bank of approximately 2,120 items.
PRECISE MEASUREMENT
Instead of fixing the items and allowing the precision of measurement to vary, we fix the precision of measurement and allow the items to vary. The result is a dramatic increase in the precision of measurement with the same and in some cases even lower burden of measurement for the patient and the complete elimination of clinician burden.
QUICK ADMINISTRATION
Average completion times for the child and parent/caregiver are 7.56 and 5.03 minutes, respectively, with an average of 7 items per domain.
CLOUD-BASED
The K-CAT® is cloud-based and scalable to any size population via a HIPAA secure Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform, meaning patients can be screened, measured, and monitored in or out of the clinic.
LANGUAGES
The K-CAT® is available in English and Spanish, and has built-in selectable audio to aid in literacy issues and further ease of use. The text is at a seventh grade reading level.
AVAILABLE VIA API
The K-CAT® can be leveraged via API for integration into Electronic Health Records. We have fully integrated our tools into the Epic EHR at the University of Chicago and developed clinical workflows designed around the integration.
INTEGRATION SOLUTIONSREMOTE-FRIENDLY
The K-CAT® is cloud-based and can be administered on any internet-capable device (smartphone, tablet, notebook, or computer). Our tools are scalable to any size population via a HIPAA secure Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform.
What does the K-CAT® measure?
The K-CAT® includes self-rated and parent/caregiver-rated modules for: depression, anxiety, mania, ADHD, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, substance use disorder (self-rated), and suicidality (self-rated). Our browser-based clinician portal makes it simple to create a custom selection of test types and notification settings to meet your organization’s needs.
K-CAT MODULES
Some Applications of the K-CAT®
Rapid and accurate assessment of child mental disorders could facilitate identification and referral, and potentially reduce the occurrence of functional disability that stems from early-onset mental disorders.
1
Child Agencies
The K-CAT® can be used to screen youth at intake to develop a baseline for their psychopathology. The results can then be used to make informed placement decisions, develop treatment plans, and involve additional professionals as needed. Subsequent K-CAT® results can be used to understand if a different level of care is required (step-up or step-down), to determine the efficacy of the treatment plan, and to track the progress of the child by understanding their needs.
2
Primary Care
In primary care, the K-CAT® can be used to help a clinician identify underlying issues, create an open dialogue about the child’s well-being with parents/caregivers, and better refer the child to other practitioners, when necessary.
3
Schools
Administrators and teachers are tasked with providing services and support for children and youth without an accurate way to assess their needs, struggles, and strengths. With the K-CAT®, school personnel can assess children at the beginning of the year, understand which children need additional support, and monitor progress throughout the year. Where gaps exist, the opportunity to create meaningful services within their school or district is created, improving outcomes for children and positively affecting the school experience.
