Comparison of Patient Retention of PCL-5 vs. CAPS-5 in a Study on Tracking PTSD Symptoms After A Mobile App Intervention

Background: Due to mental health provider shortages, primary care providers are seeing more patients with mental health concerns.1 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health concerns increased requiring primary care to adapt new multidisciplinary interventions to assist patients.2 When assessing patients for PTSD, either the CAPS-5 or PCL-5 can be used, but they have different qualities that may affect retention. Hypothesis: The PCL-5 will have a higher retention due to the ease of administration. Methods: Providers identified eligible patients at the Rowan-Virtua family medicine office in Sewell. Upon consent, the CAPS-5 or PCL-5 was administered, and then the PTSD Coach app was used by participants for 30 days. A follow-up was requested from all participants, where the initial assessment was administered again. Results: There was a decrease in average PCL-5 retention in relation to the CAPS-5 that is not statistically significant. Conclusions: CAPS-5 might better serve to increase retention rates of participants, despite its longer administration time. Limitations included a small sample size and differing protocols.