Introduction

Measuring Outcomes is one aspect of AMBIT's core stance feature, Respect for Evidence. It is impossible and unwise for an approach as broad-based as AMBIT to to dictate exactly which outcomes measures should be used by a particular team, but it is essential that teams use some systematic approach to measuring their Outcomes. There are a wide range of outcomes measures available within this manual, and others that may be used in their place. Teams will need to decide which ones to use.

Included here (see sections below for descriptions and links):

• The AIM (AMBIT Integrative Measure)
• Other validated clinical outcomes measures
• The ARHQ (AMBIT Relationship to Help Questionnaire)
• Measures of Service User experience of Care
• Measures of the impact of AMBIT training (ASEQ and APrAT)

The AIM - more than just an outcomes measure

The AIM provides one kind of 'front door' to the manual: it links a broad-based multidomain assessment of an individual to individually sorted and ranked suggestions for (more or less) evidence-based interventions that are present in the manual.

It also acts as a more detailed outcome measure: a multi-domain assessment framework that includes numeric ratings for each problem/strength area. The items identified in the AIM as "Key Problems" can (and should) be repeated at the end of treatment.

Other clinical outcome measures

There are other well validated measures, also included here:

• CGAS - the Clinical Global Assessment Scale
• SDQ - the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
• Clinical Global Impression (CGI)
• TOP - Drug and Alcohol Outcomes - the Treatment Outcome Profile
• HoNOSCA - Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents.

In addition, there are a good collection of well-validated measures available at CORC (CAMHS Outcomes Research Consortium - website here.

The ARHQ - AMBIT Relationship to Help Questionnaire

The ARHQ is hardly an outcome measure, strictly speaking, but it could conceivably be used as such. It relates to the Client's AMBIT Wheel and offers 8 questions to probe the client's relationship to help: what work are they doing in relation to their self, to working with help, to making that "help" helpful, and to learning about what works for them.

Measures of Service User Experience of Care:

Service User Feedback is another extremely important kind of outcomes measure.

The CORC website offers various versions of the well-validated CHI-ESQ (Experience of Service Questionnaire) for different age-groups or Parents. Access this via the CORC website or directly here

Measures of the impact of AMBIT training

• The AMBIT Practice Audit Tool (APrAT) - a tool for auditing a specific case
• The AMBIT Service Evaluation Questionnaire (ASEQ) - probing a team's experience of their work in relation to the four core practice quadrants of AMBIT (Working with your CLIENT, Working with your NETWORKS, Working with your TEAM and LEARNING at work). This can be used as a pre- and post-training evaluation.