PTSD: National Center for PTSD
Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen (HMHRS)
Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen (HMHRS)
Eve Carlson, PhD, Patrick Palmieri, PhD, David Spain, MD
Description
The Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen (HMHRS) is a 10-item self-report screen that predicts mental health problems after a recent trauma. It was developed based on data from U.S. patients hospitalized after emergency care for injury or acute illness. When administered to hospitalized patients, it performed well to predict posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms 2 months post-trauma in patients who identify as Asian, American Pacific Islander, Black, Latino/a, multi-race, and White, as well as in English and Spanish speakers.
The HMHRS has not be evaluated in other countries, or among other populations who have experienced recent trauma, however, it may be a tool to consider.
Administration and Scoring
The HMHRS is a self-report measure that can be completed in under 3 minutes.
Item responses are summed for a total score. Scores of 10 or more indicate elevated risk for later mental health problems. HMHRS score explainer documents are available in English and Spanish. (See below.)
Sample Items
- Item: In your day-to-day life, how often have you been treated with less respect than other people?
- Response: 6-point Likert (0 = "Never" to 5 = "Almost every day or more")
- Prompt: Since you came to the hospital, how often has each of these happened to you?
- Item: Feeling cut off or isolated from other people.
- Response: 5-point Likert (0 = "None of the time" to 4 = "More than half of the time")
Citation
Carlson, E. B., Palmieri, P.A., Spain, D.S. (2024). Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen. [Measurement instrument]. Available from https://www.ptsd.va.gov.
Carlson, E. B., Palmieri, P.A., Spain, D.S. (2024). Examen Hospitalario de Riesgos Para La Salud Mental. [Measurement instrument]. Available from https://www.ptsd.va.gov.
References
Carlson, E. B., Barlow M. R., Palmieri, P. A., Shieh, L., Mellman, T. A., Cooksey, E., Parker, J., Williams, M., & Spain, D. A. (2024). Performance replication of the Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen in ethnoracially diverse U.S. patients admitted through emergency care. PLoS ONE, 19(10), e0311256. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311256
Carlson, E. B., Palmieri, P. A., Barlow, M. R., Macia, K., Bruns, B. R., Shieh, L., & Spain, D. A. (2023). Development and initial performance of the Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 238(2), 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1097/XCS.000000000000009044
To Obtain Scale
This measure was developed by staff at VA's National Center for PTSD and colleagues. The measure is in the public domain and not copyrighted. This instrument is intended for use by qualified health professionals and researchers.
Download the Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen (HMHRS):
- HMHRS (PDF)
- HMHRS Score Explainer (PDF)
- HMHRS – Spanish (PDF)
- HMHRS Score Explainer – Spanish (PDF)
Are you using this measure with U.S. Veterans or Service members?
Our PTSD Consultation Program can answer administration or scoring questions: PTSDconsult@va.gov or 866-948-7880.
Measure availability: We provide information on a variety of measures assessing trauma and PTSD. These measures are intended for use by qualified mental health professionals and researchers. Measures authored by National Center staff are available as direct downloads or by request. Measures developed outside of the National Center can be requested via contact information available on the information page for the specific measure.
