Multidisciplinary activities in a community mental health service: relationship to Health of the Nation Outcome Scale scores and diagnosis

Abstract

Aims and MethodMultidisciplinary activities of community mental health teams in Ireland are understudied. We explored symptom profile and multidisciplinary team contacts in a complete sector population (n= 504).ResultsThe frequency of attendance was greater in individuals with severe mental illness (P<0.001) and correlated with total Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS) scores (P<0.001) and with the sub-scales for social disability (P<0.001) and symptoms (P<0.01). Sixty-two per cent of individuals were receiving shared care and were more likely to have severe mental illness (P<0.001) and higher total HoNOS scores (P<0.001). Frequency of attendance correlated with total HoNOS scores and subscale scores for social impairment and symptoms.Clinical ImplicationsFrequency of service attendance and activities of multidisciplinary team members vary with symptom profile of service attenders but are focused towards individuals with more severe illness and greater problems identified by the HoNOS.