Reliability of self-reported health service use: evidence from the women with co-occurring disorders, and violence study.
In behavioral health services research, self-reporting provides comprehensive information on service use, but may have limited reliability because of recall bias and misclassification. This study examines test-retest reliability of self-reported health service use, factors affecting reliability, and the impact of inconsistent reporting on the robustness of cost estimates using the test-retest data from the Women, Co-occurring Disorders, and Violence Study (n = 186). Reliability varies widely across service types: moderate to substantial (k = 0.65-0.94) for any use; slight to substantial (ICC = 0.12-0.93) for quantity of use; and none to moderate (k = -0.06-0.79) for service content, but is not affected by psychiatric symptom severity. Cost estimates do not differ according to the use of test or retest data. Findings suggest that self-reporting provides reliable data on service quantity and is adequate for economic evaluations. However, self-reporting of treatment content in highly specified service categories (e.g., individual counseling during residential treatment) may not be reliable.
Chung
Sukyung
S
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 2727 Mariposa Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. sukyung.chung@ucsf.edu
Domino
Marisa Elena
ME
Jackson
Elizabeth W
EW
Morrissey
Joseph P
JP
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012650:Self Disclosure; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence