Standardized routine outcome measurement: Pot holes in the road to recovery

TLDR

Routine outcome measurement is being introduced across Australian mental health services but has limited capacity to capture the richness of recovery journeys or inform care. The paper argues that current standardized outcome measurement offers only a crude view of recovery and urges nurses to use outcome focus for critical reflection and to incorporate recovery stories meaningfully. Implementation may require nurses to collude in practices or account for practice in ways that run counter to the personal recovery paradigm.

Abstract

Abstract: Routine ‘outcome measurement’ is currently being introduced across Australian mental health services. This paper asserts that routine standardized outcome measurement in its current form can only provide a crude and narrow lens through which to witness recovery. It has only a limited capacity to capture the richness of people's recovery journeys or provide information that can usefully inform care. Indeed , in its implementation nurses may be required to collude in practices or account for practice in ways which run counter to the personal recovery paradigm. Nurses should view a focus on outcomes as an opportunity for critical reflection as well as to seek ways to account for recovery stories in meaningful ways.