Table 2 Summary of assessment tools selected for the study
Instrument | Informant(s) | Key construct | Subscales | Measurement time(s)a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Description of participant sample | ||||
Customized ACCESS OM sociodemographic questionnaire | Youth; Clinician; Administrative records | Sociodemographic characteristics | None | Intake, Months 3, 6, 9, 12 and 34/end of services |
Custom checklist | Youth, Clinician | Presenting concerns | None | Intake |
GAIN-SSx | Clinician-administered youth report | Clinical symptoms | Internalising problems, externalizing problems, substance use disorders, crime/violence | Intake, Months 3, 12 and 24/end of services |
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS): Screenerx | Clinician | Suicidal ideation and behavior over past month plus one item re past suicidal behavior | None | Intake, Months 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24/end of services |
Service-level improvements | ||||
Customized services forms | Clinician; Administrative records | Number of referrals (Hyp. 1); Number offered evaluation 72 h after referral request (Hyp 2); Number offered appropriate treatment within 30 days after completion of initial evaluation (Hyp. 3) | None | Intake, Month 1; Services forms repeated at months 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 or at end of services to document services needed and offered |
CCHS-MH 2012 questions related to services sought and received | Clinician-interview with youth and/or family/carer, plus any available records | Number of help-seeking contacts made for problems with mental health/substance use and whether or not services were received in previous 12 months (Hyp. 4) | None; can examine type of contacts (formal, informal, etc.) | Intake |
Clinical improvements | ||||
Kessler-10 Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) | Youth | Unidimensional factor of distress as being linked to mental ill-health and varied diagnoses (Hyp. 5) | Cut-offs based on overall score (e.g., mild distress) | Intake, Months 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 |
Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI)x | Clinician | Clinician’s rating of severity of youth’s presenting problem over time (Hyp. 5) | None | Intake, Months 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24/end of services |
Self-rated health and self-rated mental health (SRH-MH) | Youth | Self-assessment of health and mental health, each on a single 5-item Likert scale (Hyp. 5) | None | Intake, Months 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 |
Functional improvements | ||||
Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS)x | Clinician | Social and vocational functioning on a 0 to 100 scale (Hyp. 5) | None | Intake, Months 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24/end of services |
Subjective/Well-being improvements | ||||
Goals tool inspired by the Goals-based Outcome (GBO) tool*x | Youth | Self-rated progress on 3 chosen goals (Hyp. 5) | None | Intake, Months 3, 6, 12 and 24/end of services |
Outcome Rating Scale (ORS)x | Youth | Overall outcome/ functioning/ well-being (Hyp. 5) | None; Items related to overall; individual; interpersonal; and social outcomes can be examined separately | Intake, Months 6, 12 and 24/end of services |
World Health Organisation Quality of Life – Brief (WHOQOL)* | Youth | Self-assessment of quality of life (Hyp.5) | Four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment | Intake, Months 6, 12 and 24/end of services |
Service experiences | ||||
OPOCx | Youth, family | Satisfaction (Hyp. 6) | Access to service, services provided, participation/ rights, therapists/support workers/staff, environment, discharge, recovery outcome, service quality | Months 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24/end of services |
Session Rating Scale (SRS)x | Youth | Working Alliance (Hyp. 6) | None; Items related to relationship; goals or topic; approach or method; and overall can be examined separately | Intake, Months 6, 12 and 24/end of services |
Youth Efficacy/Empowerment Scale (YES)* | Youth | Empowerment | Self, services, system | Intake, Months 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24/end of services |