Quality of life in liaison psychiatry. A comparison of patient and clinician assessment.

BACKGROUND This exploratory study investigates the performance of the Health Measurement Questionnaire (HMQ), as compared with the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule (PAS) and the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and compares self- and observer-completed measures. METHOD A total of 138 medical patients scoring over the screening threshold for probable psychiatric illness completed the HMQ, NHP and PAS, and were rated by a psychiatrist on Rosser disability and distress. RESULTS HMQ disability correlated well with NHP and PAS physical health items, while HMQ distress correlated well with the NHP emotional reactions and PAS Index of Definition. There was significant correlation between self-report and psychiatrist ratings, the latter being more sensitive to distress. CONCLUSION The HMQ is a useful measure of generic health status in liaison psychiatry settings.