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Individualized Progress Measures Are More Acceptable to Clinicians Than Standardized Measures: Results of a National Survey

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Abstract

Despite research supporting measurement-based care grounded in standardized progress measures, such measures are underutilized by clinicians. Individualized measures of client-specific targets present an alternative, but little is known about their acceptability or use. We compared attitudes toward and use of standardized and individualized progress measures in a national sample of 504 clinicians. Clinicians reported neutral to positive attitudes toward both types of measures, but strongly preferred and were more likely to use individualized measures. Clinician attitudes, theoretical orientation, and work setting predicted assessment preferences and practices. Implications for dissemination and implementation of measurement-based care are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Given the open-ended nature of these items, participants could report more than one work setting and theoretical orientation. Participants who spent any time working in private practice were classified into the Private Practice group, those who listed cognitive or behavioral as a part of their orientation were classified into the Cognitive-Behavioral group. Those who listed psychodynamic as part of their orientation were classified into the Psychodynamic group.

  2. Only 11 participants only engaged in standardized assessment, making this group too small to stand alone in the analyses.

  3. Degree information was not available for AMHCA members.

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Funding

This research was supported by an award from the University of Miami’s Provost Resaerch Award program to Dr. Jensen-Doss. Dr. Lyon’s work on this project was supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award K08MH095939.

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Correspondence to Amanda Jensen-Doss.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Miami Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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This study was approved for a waiver of signed consent; all participants were provided with a consent statement.

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Jensen-Doss, A., Smith, A.M., Becker-Haimes, E.M. et al. Individualized Progress Measures Are More Acceptable to Clinicians Than Standardized Measures: Results of a National Survey. Adm Policy Ment Health 45, 392–403 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0833-y

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