[Validation of two measuring instruments for routine outcome monitoring in psychiatry: the HORVAN study]

Transparency in psychiatry can be increased by the use of routine outcome monitoring (rom) instruments. Instruments should be easy to use and take very little time to complete; they also need to have psychometric qualities, be sensitive to change, and provide information about patients' symptoms, and about interpersonal and social functioning.

To investigate to what extent the combination of Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) and the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ) in the Dutch situation meets the above-mentioned quality criteria and to examine how the combination relates to the Symptom CheckList (SCL-­90).

Data for 148 patients collected at three measurement moments were available for analysis. The psychometric qualities of the instruments and their sensitivity to change were checked carefully.

The three scales showed high values for internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). The HoNOS total score and the subscales of the OQ correlated reasonably well with the SCL­-90 total score (convergence validity). At the first measurements, patients with a comorbid diagnosis had the lowest scores (discrimination validity). The clinically significant change between T1 and T2 and between T2 and T3 was sufficiently high for all three measuring instruments.

The combination of the HoNOS rating scale and the self­-report list OQ seems to be suitable for ROM in psychiatry.