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A staggering one in five Canadians will experience mental illness at some point during their lives, which can take a devastating toll on one\u2019s quality of life, particularly when the initial diagnosis is delayed.<\/strong> Mental illness also creates a substantial economic burden associated with treatment and lost employment opportunities, which is estimated at $50 billion annually in Canada.<\/p>\n Faster, more reliable diagnoses can have a great impact on reducing personal and economic burdens by decreasing the latency between the onset of symptoms and the start of treatment. Many clinicians and researchers use interview tools to assess psychiatric symptoms and make diagnoses. Unfortunately, many of these tools are hindered by their limited diagnostic scope, insufficient psychometric data, lengthy administrations, and low reliability for some disorders. On top of that, trends towards pay-per-use models or volume licensing fees further limit accessibility.<\/p>\n To address this issue, a team of researchers and clinicians at St. Joseph\u2019s Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University have been developing an open-access, next generation diagnostic tool: \u00a0the Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool, or DART.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” full_height=”yes” parallax=”true” parallax_image=”1187″][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”750″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”slideInRight” css=”.vc_custom_1663090534910{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”]<\/p>\n Dr. Randi McCabe, DART Working Group<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n The DART Working Group is led by Dr. Randi McCabe of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic at St. Joe\u2019s and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. The work began in 2016 with the collaboration of psychologists across clinics at St. Joe\u2019s. In 2019, McCabe and co-principal investigator, Dr. Elizabeth Pawluk, were awarded a project grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study the psychometric properties of the DART.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first conceived of the DART, our goals were to develop a diagnostic tool that was free to use, easy to administer, and designed to minimize patient burden across both clinical and research settings\u201d says Dr. McCabe.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]