The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
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Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) were incorporated in a data set recording the routine clinical activities of a mental health team in Liverpool. ⋯ It was feasible to administer HoNOS during routine assessments, but HoNOS data were of limited value in care-planning in day-to-day clinical practice. The widespread adoption of HoNOS for use in routine clinical practice would be premature.
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The HoNOS has been developed as a routine measure of outcomes in mental health. ⋯ In this research cohort HoNOS correlates well with established outcome scales. Keyworker ratings show similar, but weaker, relationships; its use in routine settings may require further training for calibration of severity.
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The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) have been developed for assessing the effectiveness of mental health services. ⋯ The HoNOS had good validity but variable reliability. It may be better than existing scales because of the wide range of areas which it covers.
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The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) were developed to assess the outcome of severe mental disorders in relation to the Health of the Nation Strategy for England. ⋯ There are serious problems in using HoNOS as a routine measure of clinical status in busy psychiatric services. Its performance is probably related to the training and experience of keyworkers. Sequential ratings are not a good method for assessing outcome. Managers and planners should be cautious in adopting HoNOS, but it is worthy consideration in developing a suite of locally agreed outcome measures.