Outcome measures for routine use in dementia services: some practical considerations.

Abstract

Objectives-To work with specialist community teams to assess the practicality and acceptability of identified outcome measures for routine use in dementia services. Setting-Seven specialist dementia services: four multidisciplinary teams, a specialist service for carers, a community psychiatric nurse team, and a day hospital. Outcomes need to reflect the aims of the service and the needs and expectations of service users. The key objectives for dementia services were identified by questionnaires completed by general practitioners, district nurses, and specialist service professionals and by interviews with carers and excarers.4 Candidate measures from the literature review were then assessed against these objectives. The final shortlist included nine measures which met the literature criteria and service objectives.Outcome measures will only be incorporated into practice if clinicians see their value and want to use them, and they will only be used properly if they understand the basics of methodology, have been trained to use them properly, and have the time to do so.5 Evaluations of outcome measures have not always been related to clinical experience and day to day practicalities and it is these factors which are likely to effect the probability of whether measures are accepted and used by service providers. This paper describes a practical approach to overcoming this by examining the shortlisted measures from our review which have already been proved to be valid and reliable, and testing them for practicality and acceptability in routine practice. Staff views of the perceived value of the measures is also considered, as is the effect of using outcome measures with carers. We hope that the details of the

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