Perceptions by patients and families towards treatment outcomes in mental health services

The need to evaluate treatment outcomes in mental health services from the user's perspective has been highlighted in the literature. The objective of this study was to compare the perceptions of patients and their families regarding treatment outcomes, in terms of perceived changes in the patient's life. The Perception of Change Scale was applied to 100 psychiatric patients that used public mental health services and 100 family members. The results showed a high percentage of agreement between patients' and families' perceptions of change on most items in the scale and on the open-ended questions. The results confirmed previous studies comparing patients' and families' satisfaction with other aspects of services. They also attest to the validity of patients' responses in the evaluation of treatment outcomes in mental health services.