title: An instrument to assess competencies of providers treating severe mental illness.
abstract: One approach to improving the quality of care for severe mental illnesses (SMI) such as schizophrenia is through the improvement of provider competencies; the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to deliver high-quality care. This paper describes a new instrument designed to measure such a set of competencies. A total of 341 providers of services to clients with SMI at 38 clinics within 5 publicly financed treatment organizations in 2 western states were asked to complete a paper-and-pencil survey including the new Competency Assessment Instrument (CAI: 15 scales, each assessing a particular provider competency), and additional measures used to establish validity (Recovery Attitude Questionnaire--7, Client Optimism Scale). Seventy-nine percent (N = 269) responded at baseline, 83% (N = 282) responded at 2 weeks. Ninety-seven percent of baseline respondents completed the survey at 2 weeks. Most CAI scales have good internal consistency (Cronbach's alphas = .52-.93), test-retest reliability (scales ranged from .42 to .78), and validity, and should be useful in efforts to improve care.
authors.affiliation: VA VISN-22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Los Angeles, California 90073, USA. chinman@rand.org
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chinman
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forquer
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000592:standards; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce