Use of self-report outcome measures in an acute inpatient CAMHS setting

Abstract

Outcome measures are increasingly being used to index change in service users’ presentation. However, within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), these raise questions around what should be measured, who should be asked to rate outcome and what constitutes progress. This study sought to audit the value of two self-report measures within the inpatient adolescent setting. An admission sample of 67 young people completed the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) and Young Person’s Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP CORE), with clinicians completing the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) and Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA). A follow-up dataset consisted of 20 young people who completed the measures on two occasions, with clinician ratings completed on admission and discharge. The RCADS and YP CORE measures showed discriminant and convergent reliability and appeared to index change in the current inpatient sample of adolescents. Self-report of symptoms and general functioning were closely related. There was little relationship between self-report and clinician ratings, emphasising the importance of collating self-report in addition to clinician ratings.