The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST)
screening tool was developed in 1971, and is one of the oldest
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
-screening tests for identifying
dependent drinkers.
Its use is constructed for the
general population. There are other versions of the MAST screening tool, all of which can be
self-administered or via interview with someone who is trained in the tool being used. All MAST screening tools are scored on a point scale system.
As stated on the Project Cork website,
there are 25 questions to the MAST screening tool. The tool's length makes administering it inconvenient in many busy
primary health care
Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...
and
emergency department settings. The tool also mainly focuses on the patient's
problems
A problem is a difficulty which may be resolved by problem solving.
Problem(s) or The Problem may also refer to:
People
* Problem (rapper), (born 1985) American rapper Books
* ''Problems'' (Aristotle), an Aristotelian (or pseudo-Aristotelian) co ...
throughout their lifetime, rather than the problems currently displayed by the patient.
The questions throughout the screening tool operate in the past tense, which means that it is less likely to detect any problems with
alcohol in its early stages, according to T. Buddy.
The extended questioning is a benefit in a sense that one accomplishes a bit of the assessment section when conducting the screening; furthermore, it allows the individual conducting the screening to achieve better communication and rapport with the client.
The MAST-G screening tool is directed towards screening
geriatric
Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...
clients and has one less question than the MAST tool. There has always been an underlying concern as to the sensitivity and
reliability
Reliability, reliable, or unreliable may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Computing
* Data reliability (disambiguation), a property of some disk arrays in computer storage
* High availability
* Reliability (computer networking), a ...
when questioning geriatric clients.
Another related screening tool is the "brief MAST", which is much shorter than the previous tests at 10 questions. There is also the Short-MAST tool similar to the brief test; it contains 13 questions.
Which tool to use is decided by the screener.
References
{{Reflist
Alcohol abuse screening and assessment tools