The Canadian National Outcomes Measurement Study in Schizophrenia: overview of the patient sample and methodology.
OBJECTIVE
The Canadian National Outcomes Measurement Study in Schizophrenia (CNOMSS) is a prospective survey of routine clinical practice.


METHODS
Patients with schizophrenia or a related disorder were consecutively enrolled from all regions of Canada. Both academic and community psychiatric clinics were included and patients were followed up for 2 years. Clinical and functional status, quality of life, medication and economic costs were assessed at enrollment and monitored throughout the follow-up period.


RESULTS
Patients attending an academic clinic tended to be younger and more severely ill than those from community clinics. Both types of sites prescribed atypical neuroleptics to more than three-quarters of the patients. The majority of those enrolled were unemployed and living in poverty. Poor clinical status was associated with poverty.


CONCLUSIONS
The CNOMSS provides demographic, clinical and treatment-related information about a large Canada-wide sample of psychiatric patients. The following three articles in this issue of Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica explore issues related to medication, quality of life and resource utilization.
Smith
G
G
Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. geoffsm@interchange.ubc.ca
Malla
A
A
Williams
R
R
Kopala
L
L
Love
L
L
Balshaw
R
R
D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002170:Canada; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011203:Poverty; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D018401:Sample Size; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs