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Table 1 Tools used for data collection

From: The burden of clinically significant symptoms of common and severe mental disorders among adults in Vietnam: a population-based cross-sectional survey

Variable

Tool

Description

Individual level

 Symptoms of common and severe mental disorders

WHO Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ)

The screening tool consists of 20 questions related to common non-psychotic mental disorders and four questions related to psychotic symptoms [12]. There are two formal validity studies of SRQ 20 items in Vietnam. The first study (2004) was conducted in a Northern province among 2000 female caregivers to validate the SRQ20 against the diagnosis of a professor of paediatric psychiatry. The cut-off point was 7/8 [21]. The second study in 2006 included a community sample of 500 people aged from 18 to 60 in a rural northern province presented an optimal cut-off point of 5/6. SRQ 20 items was validated against psychiatrists [22]. This study used the cut-off point of 6/7 to calculate the prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of CMDs among adults in Vietnam due to the similarity of the study participants.

The SRQ includes 4 items assessing symptoms of severe mental disorders including (1) has somebody been trying to harm you in some way, (2) are you a much more important person than most people think, (3) have you noticed any interference or anything else unusual with your thinking, (4) have you ever heard voices without knowing where they come from or which other people cannot hear [12].

Household level

 Household economic status

One question addressing household economic status

Subjective self-assessment of household heads in terms of their household economic status compared to other neighbours in their commune [23].

 Alcohol abuse

One question addressing whether any household member abused alcohol

The household heads identify whether a household member was abusing alcohol.

 Family violence

Short form of domestic violence screening tool (HITS) [24].

The original four-item scale was developed to identify domestic violence in term of Hurts, Insults, Threatens and Screams (HITS) with 5-point frequency format at individual level. The score ranges from 4 (no family violence) to 20 (frequent family violence) [24]. This scale was adapted to screen the family violence by asking whether any household member suffering from such domestic violence.

 Social capital

Short version of the modified Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool (SASCAT) [25]

The SASCAT comprises nine items divided into two subscales: structural and cognitive social capital. The structural social capital reflects the connectedness of the household with the community such as participation in organizations, degree of citizenship (the involvement in voting, campaign activities at commune or provincial levels), specific collective action (together with other neighbour to address a specific problem in the community) and links to groups with resources (such as local government or aid agencies). The cognitive social capital describes the feelings of sense of community such as reciprocity, and sharing. It consists of emotional support, instrumental support (food, money, etc), trust, social harmony (getting along with others in the community), sense of belonging (attachment to the community), and perceived fairness (whether others in the community take advantage of people) [26]. This tool was validated in Vietnam with nearly 80% of accurate interpretation of all questions among caregivers and data collectors. SASCAT was also reported as a valid tool in terms of psychometric and cognitive validation [27, 28].

 Specific adverse life event

One question assessing experiences of adverse life events

Have the following events occurred in the previous 3 years: household items stolen/robbed, threatening of losing or lost rights of inheritance, threatening or lost land/property ownership.