Paddington Complexity Scale and Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents.
BACKGROUND
There is an increasing interest in measuring health care outcomes in mental health services for children as well as adults.


OBJECTIVE
We examined the sensitivity of the Paddington Complexity Scale (PCS) and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) in describing the intakes of child and adolescent mental health clinics.


METHODS
We carried out a prospective study of two out-patient units and one day patient unit, by means of questionnaires administered to clinicians, parents and children.


RESULTS
Clinician-rated PCS and HoNOSCAs were obtained for 248 new attenders. Both proved sensitive to intake differences between clinics. There were correlations of moderate intensity (r = 0.6) between total PCS and HoNOSCA. There were weaker associations between these and parent/child rated measures of behaviour (r = 0.4 and 0.3), quality of life and self-esteem (r = 0.3 or less).


CONCLUSIONS
Both PCS and HoNOSCA are useful for describing clinical profiles of children and adolescents receiving mental health services.
Yates
P
P
Academic Unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Imperial College School of Medicine, London.
Garralda
M E
ME
Higginson
I
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires