A case control study of the implementation of change model versus passive dissemination of practice guidelines for compliance in monitoring for metabolic syndrome.

We developed an intervention to improve compliance with guidelines for monitoring metabolic syndrome and compared compliance prior to intervention and three times post-intervention at three community mental health clinics in Texas. One test clinic received intervention and two other clinics served as controls. Fifty random charts were reviewed from each clinic for three specific, 1-2 weeks periods over the course of 18 months.

Interrater reliability of using brief standardized outcome measures in a community mental health setting.

Objective: Given psychiatry's need to implement measurement-based care, the study examined whether direct-care staff could reliably administer brief positive and negative symptom instruments to track symptom changes and inform clinical decision making.

Methods: Raters (82 case managers) were assessed at baseline. Training was provided for individuals not meeting reliability criteria.

Public-academic partnerships: tools for mental health agencies to evaluate research protocols.

Research involving community mental health center clients, resources, or both can affect clinical care, administrative processes, and costs. To help agencies identify and quantify these effects, a stakeholder group examined and discussed a range of protocols and then developed questionnaires and rating scales for agency use. The purpose of these materials is to make explicit the risks, costs, and benefits of a research protocol so an agency can make informed decisions about protocol approval and implementation.