Raz Gross1, Saralee Glasser2, David Elisha3, Orya Tishby4, Daria Madar Jacobson2, Gila Levitan2, Michael J Lambert5, Alexander M Ponizovsky3. 1. Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel. 2. Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Tel Hashomer, Israel. 3. Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel. 4. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. 5. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, U.S.A.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Measuring the progress of mental health treatment aids in assessment and monitoring of psychotherapeutic outcomes. The OQ-45 is a widely accepted measure of such outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate the Hebrew and Arabic versions of the OQ-45. METHOD: Data were collected from three samples: non patient university students (n=189), university mental health clinic patients (n=37), and outpatient mental health clinic patients (n=135). Subjects completed the OQ-45 as well as the BSI and PHQ-9 questionnaires. RESULTS: Test-retest and internal reliability, and concurrent and discriminative validity of both OQ-45 versions were satisfactory. Sensitivity of the Hebrew and Arabic versions was 0.70 and 0.80, respectively, and the specificity was 0.69and 0.93, respectively. Sensitivity-to-change was noted only for the Symptom Distress (SD) subscale. LIMITATIONS: Sensitivity-to-change was not demonstrated for the total OQ-45, possibly due to a too-short follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate psychometric properties of the Hebrew and Arabic OQ-45 suggest that they can serve as useful measures of mental health treatment in Israel.Further research is necessary to confirm norms, cut-off scores and sensitivity-to-change using a larger representative population and diverse types of treatment over a longer period of time.
BACKGROUND: Measuring the progress of mental health treatment aids in assessment and monitoring of psychotherapeutic outcomes. The OQ-45 is a widely accepted measure of such outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate the Hebrew and Arabic versions of the OQ-45. METHOD: Data were collected from three samples: non patient university students (n=189), university mental health clinic patients (n=37), and outpatient mental health clinic patients (n=135). Subjects completed the OQ-45 as well as the BSI and PHQ-9 questionnaires. RESULTS: Test-retest and internal reliability, and concurrent and discriminative validity of both OQ-45 versions were satisfactory. Sensitivity of the Hebrew and Arabic versions was 0.70 and 0.80, respectively, and the specificity was 0.69and 0.93, respectively. Sensitivity-to-change was noted only for the Symptom Distress (SD) subscale. LIMITATIONS: Sensitivity-to-change was not demonstrated for the total OQ-45, possibly due to a too-short follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate psychometric properties of the Hebrew and Arabic OQ-45 suggest that they can serve as useful measures of mental health treatment in Israel.Further research is necessary to confirm norms, cut-off scores and sensitivity-to-change using a larger representative population and diverse types of treatment over a longer period of time.