Behavior Screening Tool Analysis

Since a high number of adolescents have used alcohol or another drug by the time they have reached the 12th grade, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that providers provide alcohol screening and counseling to all adolescents (Levy & Knight, 2009). A screening tool that can be used is the CRAFFT tool, which is a behavior screening tool for children under the age of 21 to screen for high risk alcohol and other drug use disorders. The tool consists of 6 questions, and CRAFFT is a mnemonic acronym of the first letters of key words in the six questions, so it is a short, effective screening tool that can be administer by pediatric healthcare providers. The tool will help the provider discover if a disorder is present, and then a
Compared to other behavior screening tools, such as the CAGE, AUDIT, and TWEAK, the CRAFFT tool is the most widely used screening instrument in the U.S. for the pediatric population. The tool has acceptable sensitivity and specificity for identifying all screening categories and among all demographic subgroups (Knight, Sherritt, Shrier, Harris, & Chang, 2002). Another positive for using the CRAFFT tool is that unlike the CAGE, AUDIT, and TWEAK, this tool includes screening for both alcohol and drugs. According to the articles, the CRAFFT tool is a reliable, easy to administer, cost effective screening tool that can be administered by all providers to their pediatric
The child's mother decides to stay in the in the waiting room while the child's physical exam is being conducted by the provider. Before the physical exam starts, the provider decides to ask the patient if during the past 12 months she has ever drunk alcohol, smoked marijuana, or used anything else to get high. The patient reports that she did drink alcohol on two different occasions over the past 12 months. The provider proceeds to ask the patient the six CRAFFT questions and the patient does admit to riding in a car once with a friend who had been drinking alcohol. She said that the friend "definitely was not drunk, but did have 2 drinks." She answers no to the other 5 questions. The patient's CRAFFT score would be a "1." According to the scoring for the CRAFFT tool, a score of 2 or more is a positive screen and indicates a need for additional assessment (Levy & Knight, 2009). Since the patient only has a score of 1, the plan of care for this patient will entail a conversation to advise the adolescent to stop using alcohol completely. The statements by the providers should focus on the adverse health effects of alcohol and drugs. She should be made aware that she should never ride in car with anyone that has been drinking alcohol, even if she feels like they are not intoxicated due to the risk of getting seriously injured or killed from a car crash. The patient should also be asked about