title: Reliable self-report of health service use by individuals with serious mental illness.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether individuals with serious mental illness could consistently report their use of medical services. Twenty-nine individuals with schizophrenia completed a test-retest protocol using a modified version of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey; there was a one-week interval between the two administrations of the instrument. Consistency of reporting was generally strong and was strongest for items indicating whether a service had been used in the past six months, which suggests that people with schizophrenia can provide reliable information about their use of health services. Continued research in this area will increase understanding of the types and quality of medical care received by persons with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. rgoldber@psych.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Diana C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Seybolt
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lehman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012650:Self Disclosure