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A comparison of methodologies in a diagnostic overshadowing study : clinical impressions of short case presentations

A comparison of methodologies in a diagnostic overshadowing study : clinical impressions of short case presentations
A comparison of methodologies in a diagnostic overshadowing study : clinical impressions of short case presentations

The diagnostic overshadowing bias is a proposal clinician cognitive bias affecting the accuracy of the diagnosis of mental disorders in people with learning disabilities.  It has been fairly consistently demonstrated that a variety of clinicians display this bias in response to short case descriptions.  The majority of studies assessing this proposed bias have, however, adhered to one analogue methodology.  Studies that have not adhered strictly to this methodology have had more mixed results.  The fact that this proposed bias has only been clearly demonstrated within a single methodological approach raises questions about its validity.

The current review critically assesses diagnostic overshadowing with regard to clinical standards of assessment, and with reference to the decision-making literature.  The relationships between these areas of psychological knowledge have implications for the validity of diagnostic overshadowing research.  These are discussed, as are the clinical implications, and implications for future directions of research in this field.

The second part of this study describes a piece of research that manipulates the presentation of diagnostically relevant case information to clinicians, and assesses the impact of this on the diagnostic overshadowing bias.  Relationships between length of clinical experience and diagnostic and treatment ratings are explored, and an initial examination of the use of standardised assessment tools in clinical practice is undertaken.  Implications for research into diagnostic overshadowing are discussed, as are the clinical implications.

University of Southampton
Thomas, Richard
55b35482-1f51-4768-af49-29856ff52093
Thomas, Richard
55b35482-1f51-4768-af49-29856ff52093

Thomas, Richard (2003) A comparison of methodologies in a diagnostic overshadowing study : clinical impressions of short case presentations. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

The diagnostic overshadowing bias is a proposal clinician cognitive bias affecting the accuracy of the diagnosis of mental disorders in people with learning disabilities.  It has been fairly consistently demonstrated that a variety of clinicians display this bias in response to short case descriptions.  The majority of studies assessing this proposed bias have, however, adhered to one analogue methodology.  Studies that have not adhered strictly to this methodology have had more mixed results.  The fact that this proposed bias has only been clearly demonstrated within a single methodological approach raises questions about its validity.

The current review critically assesses diagnostic overshadowing with regard to clinical standards of assessment, and with reference to the decision-making literature.  The relationships between these areas of psychological knowledge have implications for the validity of diagnostic overshadowing research.  These are discussed, as are the clinical implications, and implications for future directions of research in this field.

The second part of this study describes a piece of research that manipulates the presentation of diagnostically relevant case information to clinicians, and assesses the impact of this on the diagnostic overshadowing bias.  Relationships between length of clinical experience and diagnostic and treatment ratings are explored, and an initial examination of the use of standardised assessment tools in clinical practice is undertaken.  Implications for research into diagnostic overshadowing are discussed, as are the clinical implications.

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Published date: 2003

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Local EPrints ID: 467078
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/467078
PURE UUID: b241d0f6-301f-49f2-9180-6cd858448404

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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 08:11
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:58

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Author: Richard Thomas

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