Development and usefulness of an instrument for the standard description and comparison of services for disabilities (DESDE).

Objective: Mental health research has made significant progress in international comparison and instrument development. This study reports the adaptation of the European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) to the assessment of services for persons with disabilities.
Method: Qualitative groups were used to develop the Description and Evaluation of Services for Disabilities in Europe (DESDE). The psychometric analysis of DESDE covered: feasibility, inter-rater reliability, descriptive validity and internal validity. A demonstration study was also carried out.
Results: Compared to the original ESMS, a new main branch and several sub-branches were added. We identified 826 services for persons with disabilities, which provided 1284 main types of care. The feasibility and reliability was good for the majority of codes. Only 6% of services were not properly classified. The Boolean factor analysis supported the internal validity of DESDE.
Conclusion: DESDE is a useful and reliable instrument for the assessment of services for persons with disabilities.