A comparison of parent reported outcome with experience of services

Purpose – Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) is currently seen as a key driver for service improvement at individual, team and service level. The purpose this paper is to explore the relationships between a patient (parent) reported outcome measure (PROM), a practitioner reported outcome measure, and a patient (parent) reported experience measure (PREM). Design/methodology/approach – A cohort of 302 primary school-age children was recruited and followed for one year from consecutively accepted referrals to three teams within two English Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (a PROM) and practitioners completed the Clinician Global Assessment Scale at baseline, six and 12 months; parents completed the Experience of Services Questionnaire (a PREM) at six and 12 months. Findings – PROM and practitioner reported outcome measure data suggested poor clinical outcome in terms of symptoms, impact and levels of functioning but were accompanied by PREM evidence of high levels of satisfaction. There was an unexpectedly low correlation ( < 0.2) between both measures of outcome and satisfaction. Originality/value – This paper fulfils a need to explore the relationships between different outcome measures to contribute to the understanding of ROM its validity.