With funding from NIMH, TeleSage has developed a state-of-the-art mental health outcomes tracking survey instrument for use with both public- and private-sector adults. This survey is currently in statewide use in Tennessee and Iowa. Unfortunately, no corresponding cutting-edge survey instrument exists for youth. TeleSage has used the Ohio Scales in two state-wide projects, but this instrument has several important shortcomings. The overall aim of this project is to develop a youth mental health outcomes tracking instrument and associated software for use by state mental health agencies and managed behavioral healthcare organizations (MBHO). The package will feature a set of item banks for the domains that are most frequently requested by administrators and clinicians, and which are most relevant to patients, their families, and advocacy groups. There will be three versions of these item banks: one to be completed by youth (ages 13-17) receiving mental health services, one to be completed by parents of youth (ages 5-17) receiving mental health services, and one to be completed by clinicians of youth (ages 5-17) receiving mental health services. States, agencies, and MBHOs will be able to choose the domains most relevant to their needs, as well as select technological solutions (e.g., IVR, PCs, PDAs, touch-screens) for collecting patient-reported data and delivering reports to stakeholders. This Phase I project will utilize the same survey development techniques as those used by the NIH PROMIS initiative. TeleSage has already developed core item pools for 13 domains. Additional items will be developed based on expert panel review. We will pretest items for the 13 previously developed domains, as well as a new parenting stress domain and domains appropriate for use with Autism Spectrum Disorders, using cognitive interviewing with a sample of 20 youth (ages 13-17), 20 parents of youth, and 20 clinicians treating youth. An expert panel will review results and recommend items for full validation. Full validation of items, using IRT analysis and comparisons with gold standard instruments will be completed in Phase II. In addition, respondent-specific domains, a Spanish translation, and crosswalks to the relevant domains of existing instruments will also be created.
Mental illness in adolescents is qualitatively different from mental illness in adults;as such, a youth specific instrument is needed to offer a reliable and valid self-assessment for this population. This project aims to develop a state-of-the-art, multi-domain state outcomes tracking instrument for youth, their parents, and clinicians. The proposed instrument would greatly improve upon existing measures by using IRT, cognitive interviewing, and a DSM-oriented set of domains to reliably track change in youth ages 5-17.
