Patient's perception on the treatment in mental Health services: validating the Perception of Change Scale - patient version

The evaluation of mental health services has stressed the use of patient-reported outcome scales. Thus, this research aimed at validating the Perception of Change Scale - Patient Version (PCS-P). Three hundred psychiatric patients, attending mental health services, participated in individual structured interviews which use the scale. The scale has 19 items which evaluate perceived changes and response alternatives disposed in a three-point Likert-type scale. Analysis using the Principal Components Method revealed a 3-factor structure: (a) occupation and physical health; (b) psychological aspects and sleeping condition; (c) relationships and emotional stability. The scale had good indices of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.85), test-retest temporal stability (r = 0.93; p<0.05) and convergent validity with another scale evaluating the related construct of service satisfaction (r = 0.37; p<0.05).

Patient-reported outcome; Perception of change; Mental Health Services; Scale