Abstract
Background: Children in mental health inpatient care require multiple treatments. There is not a comprehensive instrument to assess perceived helpfulness of this combination of interventions.Aims: To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the What was Helpful Questionnaire (WHQ), a tool designed to capture parental perceived helpfulness of the multidimensional management approach used in inpatient children's units.Methods: A total of 73 inpatients and their families were included in this study. The WHQ consists of six items exploring the perceived helpfulness of different aspects of care. Demographic and clinical variables were collected on admission and discharge. An exploratory factor analysis using polychoric correlations was performed to assess the item structure of the scale and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used for internal reliability. Associations were assessed using regressions models.Results: WHQ is a unidimensional scale with an internal reliability of 0.77. No associations were identified between WHQ total score and age, gender, and Children's Global Assessment Scale scores change. A strong relationship between the WHQ total score and parental Acorn Satisfaction Questionnaire total score was found.Conclusions: Results add evidence for the validity and the reliability of the WHQ to measure parental perceived helpfulness of interventions offered in inpatient children's units.
Highlights
The prevalence of psychopathology among children and adolescents is high [1] and its impact extends to adulthood affecting academic outcomes [2], increasing the risk of other mental health problems [2, 3] and reducing life satisfaction [4]
No associations were identified between was Helpful Questionnaire (WHQ) total score and age, gender, and Children’s Global Assessment Scale scores change
No associations were identified between WHQ total score and age, gender, Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) change or HoNOSCA change
Summary
The prevalence of psychopathology among children and adolescents is high [1] and its impact extends to adulthood affecting academic outcomes [2], increasing the risk of other mental health problems [2, 3] and reducing life satisfaction [4]. The clear majority of children and adolescents diagnosed with mental health conditions are treated in outpatient services. Many young people have severe disorders difficult to manage in community settings and require inpatient input. Children’s inpatient mental health units are a specialized National Health Service provision for young people up to the age of 12 years with complex or/and severe mental health problems. These units offer comprehensive and individualized assessment and multidimensional treatment, including specialist educational input, that can lead to significant positive changes for both children and their families [7, 8]. There is not a comprehensive instrument to assess perceived helpfulness of this combination of interventions
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