Validation of the Patient Generated Index for People With Severe Mental Illness

Objective: The Patient Generated Index (PGI) is a personalized quality of life (QOL) measure. This secondary analysis examined its psychometric properties with people with severe mental illness. Methods: Three hundred and eleven people with severe mental illness participated in structured interviews at baseline, 9 months, and 18 months. Results: The PGI captured a range of self-defined life areas. PGI scores were correlated with measures of QOL, hope, and functioning, indicating concurrent (criterion) validity. The correlation with QOL, with the finding that PGI scores were significantly higher for people who were employed (n = 42) versus unemployed (n = 269) and for people without substance use disorder (n = 269) versus those with substance use disorder (n = 42), is indicative of construct validity. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The results support the suitability of the PGI as an idiographic measure for monitoring personalized QOL of people with severe mental illness. Impact and Implications This study provides validation of the use of the PGI as an idiographic, personalized measure of QOL with people with severe mental illness. The individualized nature of the measure makes it pertinent for use in the delivery of recovery-oriented services, providing a way to assess and monitor life domain areas that are specific and important to each person.