The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents in an adolescent in-patient sample.
OBJECTIVE
The primary aims of the study were to examine the reliability and validity of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) in a sample of adolescents requiring medium to long-term in-patient psychiatric treatment and to examine the association between HoNOSCA scores and age, gender and length of treatment.


METHODS
A multidisciplinary team completed the HoNOSCA for 51 adolescent patients at intake and at 3- and 6-months following admission to the unit.


RESULTS
The study provided support for the test-retest reliability, concurrent and convergent validity, but not the internal reliability, of the HoNOSCA. Total HoNOSCA scores at intake were similar to those found in adolescent outpatient samples, although there were some differences at the level of individual items. Similarly, while the total HoNOSCA score showed some sensitivity to change, using the total HoNOSCA score obscured important changes in specific domains of functioning over the course of admission.


CONCLUSIONS
The HoNOSCA was found to be a valid measure of global functioning at intake, thereby supporting its use in an adolescent psychiatric unit. However, focusing on individual items, rather than total score, appears more useful in evaluating the impact of inpatient psychiatric treatment on adolescents.
Harnett
Paul H
PH
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia. p.harnett@psy.uq.edu.au
Loxton
Natalie J
NJ
Sadler
Trevor
T
Hides
Leanne
L
Baldwin
Andrea
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011793:Queensland; D015203:Reproducibility of Results