Approaches to denote treatment outcome: Clinical significance and clinical global impression compared.
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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:The authors of a previous study proposed a statistically based approach to denote treatment outcome, translating pretest and posttest scores into clinically relevant categories, such as recovery and reliable improvement. We assessed the convergent validity of the Jacobson-Truax (JT) approach, using T-score based cutoff values, with ratings by an independent evaluator. METHODS:Pretest and retest scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and clinical global impression improvement (CGI-I) ratings were collected repeatedly through routine outcome monitoring from 5,900 outpatients with common mental disorders. Data were collected in everyday practice in a large mental health care provider. RESULTS:Continuous pretest-to-retest BSI change scores had a stronger association with CGI-I than the categorical variable based on JT. However, JT categorization and improvement according to CGI converged substantially with association indices (Somers' D) ranging from D = .50 to .56. Discordance was predominantly due to a more positive outcome according to JT than on CGI-I ratings. CONCLUSION:Converting continuous outcome variables into clinically meaningful categories comes at the price of somewhat diminished concurrent validity with CGI-I. Nevertheless, support was found for the proposed threshold values for reliable change and recovery, and the outcome denoted in these terms corresponded with CGI improvement for most patients.
SUBMITTER: de Beurs E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7649961 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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