Overview of the screener
The screener is a tool that helps CHWs in client work and managers & directors in program management. For CHWs, the screener helps uncover client needs to consider when creating Roadmaps. For managers and directors, the screener provides information about clients needs at a program level and supports reporting on program activities and outcomes.
We want to call out here that the screener is meant to be used in the context of a meet the person interview as just one way of getting to know and understand your client. The screener covers some sensitive topics which can feel hard to bring up, so we’ve worded the questions carefully to help you ask these questions in a way that is empathetic and respectful of your clients.
Navigating to the screener
You can find the Screener under the client’s information in a client chart. You’ll see that there’s a plus button there, clicking on the plus button opens up the screening form.
Orientation to the screener
Now you’re looking at the screener! Let’s get you oriented to its different components.
- The screener lives in its own pop-up window. You can close out of it by clicking the “X” in the upper right corner
- You’ll see at the top two choices: IMPaCT and Other. This refers to the type of screener you are filling out.
- If you pick IMPaCT you’ll see all these questions as you see them here.
- If you use another screener in your organization, the Other tab lets you record in the IMPaCT app the results of the other screener.
- Just like notes, this auto-saves. As soon as you make some changes, it will save for you. If you need to stop halfway through the screener, you can simply hit the "X" button and the next time you open up the screener it will look just as how I left it. This is great for times when you might not be able get through the whole screener with a client.
- The “Submit” button at the bottom right lights up up once changes are made to the form. You can submit the form at any time - you don’t have to fill out every question. However we recommend hitting submit when you’ve been able to work through all the questions you want to ask a client, even if it takes a couple sessions.
Screener history
Once the screener has been submitted at least once, there will be a History section available at the bottom of the pop-up. In this example below the IMPaCT screener has been submitted 3 times.
This History section gives you a list from newest at the top to oldest at the bottom of all the times the form has been submitted and the person who submitted it. If the screener has just been autosaved but not submitted, it will not show up in this list.
One more thing to note is that this section is specific to each type of screener. So when you’re looking at the IMPaCT screener, this history is all about the work you’ve done in the IMPaCT screener. When you’re looking at the Other screener, the history is specific to the Other screener.
The IMPaCT screener
Now that we’re oriented to how the screener works overall let’s dive into the IMPaCT screener specifically.
When you’re in the screener, you know you’re in the IMPaCT screener because IMPaCT is selected on the upper right (1). The IMPaCT screener was developed from our experience with thousands of clients at IMPaCT and you’ll recognize these questions from the Meet the Person interview.
As you go through the screener, you can select the corresponding answer. There’s also a note field (2) for every question if you want to jot down more details. These notes are autosaved along with the rest of the changes you make.
Other screeners
Now lets take a look at the “Other” tab at the top here. Your organization might use a different screener that’s not the IMPaCT screener. In this case, pick Other at the top (1). The Other screener is made for you to enter the results of a different screener into the IMPaCT app, so that you can have all the information about your client in one place.
When you’re entering in information from a different screener you’ll want to first enter in the date that you did the screening, which may or may not be the current date (2).
Now you’ll want to input the areas that came up as needs in the screening you performed. Click on “Needs Identified” to see a list of different categories to choose from.
These categories might be named slightly different from what they were called in the screening tool you used. If you’re not sure whether a category is the correct one, you can hover over each category to see more details about what it means.
You can select as many of these as needed and after you make selections in “Needs Identified”, you’ll see the list of what you chose spelled out in that field. There’s also an optional Notes field where you can jot down any notes to yourself.
When it comes to saving this form, similar to the IMPaCT screener changes are autosaved so If you have to exit out halfway through your work will still be autosaved and the next time you open the screener it will be here. Once you hit submit, you’ll see the history available to you, just like you did in the IMPaCT screener.
The last thing we want to point out for the Other screener is that the history section shows the dates that were entered in the “Date of Screening” field. If you forget to enter a Date of Screening, then you’ll see “Unknown” in the History and the system will use the date you submitted the form to order decided what order it goes in on the History list.
And that's how you use the screener!