Assessing behavioral health outcomes in outpatient programs: Reliability and validity of the BASIS-32

The Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) was developed to assess mental health outcomes among patients with severe illness treated on inpatient programs. However; its applicability and utility to those treated in outpatient programs has not been determined The objective of this study war; to assess reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the BASIS-32 among mental health consumers treated in outpatient programs. A total of 407 outpatients completed the BASIS-32 and the Short Form Health Status Profile (SF-36) at the beginning of a treatment episode and again 30 to 90 days later Outpatients reported less difficulty at intake than did inpatients, and the BASIS-32 detected statistically significant changes 30 To 90 days after beginning outpatient treatment. Factor structure and construct validity were partially confirmed on this sample of outpatient consumers. Analyses of data from a wide range of facilities and samples would add to validation efforts and to further refinement of the BASIS-32.