"I have helped design and program five different survey instruments that were administered to approximately 4,000 households, 1,250 elected officials and 1,250 unelected officials throughout Ghana," says Gall, a third-year Ph.D. student in political science from St . Louis
Modified versions of the PTSD module from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule were the only instruments that were administered to all subjects in both studies.
Assessment of cognitive function (memory, attention, language, concept formation, problem solving, executive and visuospatial functions) with age-appropriate, translated and validated psychometric instruments that were administered by well-trained psychologists using a set of Arabic norms [ 26] for a translated Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd edition (WISC-III) [ 27].
CMDs can be measured easily and with minimal cost using a broad range of brief instruments that can be administered by lay interviewers with limited training.
Therefore, the use of instruments that can be administered to teachers, parents, and children are a helpful alternative to gain information until clinical services are more established.
Large-scale surveys inevitably have high levels of non-participation and necessarily involve collecting information retrospectively using instruments that can be administered relatively quickly by trained lay interviewers.
At the same time, there is also a need for instruments that are efficient to administer and that minimize subject burden.
These are important considerations for staff and researchers who collect and process the information produced by instruments.[ 23] Instruments that are difficult to administer and process may jeopardise the conduct of research and disrupt educational efforts.
Data from the surveys and focus group were combined to inform the data collection instruments that are currently being administered to patients recruited from the University of Wisconsin Hospital Trauma Inpatient and Orthopedic Surgery Services.
It remains a task for future research to develop routine instruments that could also be administered to youth.
