Performance of Screening and Diagnostic Tests

TLDR

Psychiatric test evaluation has traditionally relied on sensitivity, specificity, thek-statistic, and predictive values derived from a single criterion threshold, whereas ROC analysis expands assessment by considering all sensitivity–specificity pairs and enabling comprehensive comparison of tests or scoring procedures. The authors aimed to demonstrate ROC analysis by evaluating three scoring rules for the Health Opinion Survey. They applied ROC analysis to compare these scoring rules for the psychiatric test. The demonstration showed that ROC analysis is a valuable addition to standard psychiatric test evaluation methods and can aid clinicians in selecting appropriate procedures for specific patient populations.

Abstract

• Evaluation of psychiatric screening and diagnostic tests has benefited from the application of sensitivity, specificity, thek-statistic, and predictive values. These measures derive their meaning from a single criterion threshold. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis extends assessment of test performance by providing information about all possible pairs of achievable sensitivity and specificity values. The ROC analysis offers a comprehensive means for comparing different tests or different scoring procedures for one test. As a demonstration we used the ROC analysis to evaluate three types of scoring rules for one psychiatric test, the Health Opinion Survey. The demonstration indicated that ROC analysis can profitably take a place among the standard methods for test evaluation in psychiatric research. In addition, ROC analysis can assist clinicians in selecting appropriate test procedures for particular patient populations.