Implementation of a psychological treatment outcomes evaluation system for young people at Uruguay's National Health System: Using CORE‐OM

DOGMANAS, DENISSE; ARIAS, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; GAGO, FIORELLA; DE ÁLAVA, LAURA; ROUSSOS, ANDRES

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research

Wiley

Año: 2022

1473-3145

Routine outcome measurement is an important practice to improve the quality ofmental health services. Since 2011, it has been mandatory for health services to offerpsychotherapy in Uruguay´s National Health System. Adolescents and young peopleare a priority population. The lack of information about the functioning and the effectivenessof the mental health services focused on youth is an obstacle to assess and,as a consequence, to improve the services. The objective of this study was to evaluatethe implementation of a system to establish the characteristics and outcomes ofpsychological treatment received by young people at services provided by Uruguay´sNational Health System. The present study was the first of its kind to examine theoutcomes of psychotherapy offered in mental health services. A pre-postdesign in anaturalistic setting was used. Sixty-nineparticipants, aged 16 to 24 years, and 26 therapistsfrom four health services participated. Sociodemographic and clinical questionnaires,the Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation-OutcomeMeasure (CORE-OM;Evans et al., 2002) and a semi-structuredinterview were applied to assess the perceptionof change. CORE-OMresults portrayed a decrease in psychological distress.Interview data helped to better understand the perception of change. A high numberof dropouts revealed the need for the services to use strategies to prevent early dropoutsin young users. The CORE-OMappears to be a valuable tool. Barriers for outcomessystem implementations are discussed and may prove useful to other countrieswhere there is a lack of an outcome-orientedclinical culture