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Reliability of the Camberwell Assessment of Need for South African mental health service users.
- Source :
- International Journal of Social Psychiatry; Jan2012, Vol. 58 Issue 1, p47-54, 8p
- Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Background: The Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN) is a widely used instrument to assess the service needs for people with a severe mental illness. No reliability data are available for its use in South Africa.Method: Interrater and test-retest reliability were documented for a sub-sample of 194 patients participating in a needs assessment study among people receiving mental health services. Initially, the CAN was administered by one field worker, while another observed and also made ratings. The participant was then re-interviewed approximately one week after the initial interview.Results: With the exception of ‘psychotic symptoms’ (κ = -0.4) and ‘looking after home’ (κ = 0.008), Cohen’s κ coefficients for interrater reliability ranged from 0.150 to 0.760 for Section 1 of the CAN. Test-retest reliabilities for Section 1 resulted in moderate to substantial agreement, with Cohen’s κ coefficient ranging from 0.25 to 0.81. High correlations were reported for the test-retest reliabilities of the remaining sections of the CAN (r = 0.719–0.845). However, the figures for the interrater reliabilities were lower and more variable (r = −0.082–0.408).Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that with additional interviewer training, the CAN is a relatively reliable instrument for assessing the needs of youths with severe mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00207640
- Volume :
- 58
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- International Journal of Social Psychiatry
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 77683946
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764010382700