AUTHOR=von Peter Sebastian , Krispin Helene , Kato Glück Rosa , Ziegenhagen Jenny , Göppert Lena , Jänchen Patrick , Schmid Christine , Neumann Anne , Baum Fabian , Soltmann Bettina , Heinze Martin , Schwarz Julian , Beeker Timo , Ignatyev Yuriy 

TITLE=Needs and Experiences in Psychiatric Treatment (NEPT)- Piloting a Collaboratively Generated, Initial Research Tool to Evaluate Cross-Sectoral Mental Health Services

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.781726

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.781726

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Background: Research tools to evaluate institutions or interventions in the field of mental health have rarely been constructed by researchers with personal experience of using the men-tal health system (=experiential expertise). This paper presents a preliminary tool that has been developed within a participatory-collaborative process evaluation as part of a controlled, mul-ti-center, prospective cohort study (PsychCare) to evaluate psychiatric flexible and integrative treatment (=FIT) models in Germany.
Method: The collaborative research team consisting of researchers with and without experien-tial expertise developed 12 experiential program components of FIT models by an iterative research process based on the Grounded Theory Methodology. These components were trans-formed into a preliminary research tool that was evaluated by a participatory expert panel, and during a pilot and validation study, the latter using a random sample of 327 users from 14 mental health departments. Internal consistency of the tool was tested using Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was evaluated using a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and a Jonck-heere Terpstra test in relation to different implementation levels of the FIT model. Concurrent validity was tested against a German version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (ZUF-8) using correlation analysis and a linear regression model. 
Results: The evaluation of the expert panel reduced 29 initial items to 16 that were further re-duced to 11 items during the pilot study, resulting into a research tool (Needs and Experiences in Psychiatric Treatment - NEPT) that demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.89). PCA yielded a 1-component structure, which accounted for 49% of the total variance supporting the unidimensional structure of the tool. The total NEPT score increased alongside the increasing implementation of the FIT model (p < 0.05). There was evidence (p < 0.001) for convergent validity assessed against the ZUF-8 as criterion measure.
Conclusions: The NEPT tool seems to be promising for further development to assess the expe-riences with and fulfilment of needs of psychiatric care models from the perspective of users. This paper demonstrates that it is possible to use a participatory-collaborative approach within the methodologically rigorous confines of a prospective, controlled research design.