ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Given psychiatry's need to implement measurement-based care, the study examined whether direct-care staff could reliably administer brief positive and negative symptom instruments to track symptom changes and inform clinical decision making. METHODS: Raters (82 case managers) were assessed at baseline. Training was provided for individuals not meeting reliability criteria. These individuals were reassessed to determine the effect of training. In addition, rater drift was assessed for raters judged to be reliable at baseline. RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent of direct-care staff met criteria for reliability either at baseline or after they received additional training. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of direct-care staff can be trained to reliability on brief scales of positive and negative symptoms that can be used to guide clinical decision making.
Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Centers , Health Personnel , Mental Disorders , Outcome Assessment, Health Care/methods , Decision Support Systems, Clinical , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Mental Disorders/physiopathology , Mental Disorders/therapy , Outcome Assessment, Health Care/standards , TexasABSTRACT
Research involving community mental health center clients, resources, or both can affect clinical care, administrative processes, and costs. To help agencies identify and quantify these effects, a stakeholder group examined and discussed a range of protocols and then developed questionnaires and rating scales for agency use. The purpose of these materials is to make explicit the risks, costs, and benefits of a research protocol so an agency can make informed decisions about protocol approval and implementation. The goal of this work was to promote the conduct of appropriate research in community mental health settings while reducing risks to the agency and its clientele.
