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Child and adolescent mental health service use. HoNOSCA as an outcome measure
M E Garralda1, P Yates, I Higginson
1Academic Unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Imperial College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
Background:
HoNOSCA (Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents) is a recently developed measure of outcome for use in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
Aims:
To examine HoNOSCA's sensitivity to change, convergent validity and clinical usefulness.
Method:
Prospective study of new CAMHS attenders. Questionnaires completed by clinicians, parents and referrers at initial assessment and after 6 months.
Results:
Follow-up HoNOSCAs on 203 children indicated statistically significant change. There were significant associations between change in HoNOSCA scores, changes in other clinician- and parent-rated scales (r = 0.51 to 0.32) and in global outcome ratings by referrers, parents and clinicians. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the summated HoNOSCA scores were high. HoNOSCA change was positively correlated with initial HoNOSCA score (r = 0.46, P < 0.001) and it was linked to psychiatric diagnosis.
Conclusions:
HoNOSCA is a sensitive, valid measure of change among CAMHS attenders.