The EPSILON study of schizophrenia in five European countries -: Design and methodology for standardising outcome measures and comparing patterns of care and service costs

Background There is a lack of cross-national research on care for people with schizophrenia. Aims To produce standardised European versions of five instruments in key areas of mental health service research in five languages, and to compare data from five European countries regarding patients with schizophrenia and mental health care provision and costs. Method Five centres, in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London, Santander and Verona, participated. Instruments assessing needs, service use, informal carer involvement, quality of life, and service satisfaction were subjected to a conversion procedure including translation, back-translation, focus group discussion and reliability assessment. Patients of local mental health services with a Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry diagnosis of schizophrenia were interviewed. Results Service provision varied between sites; 404 patients were studied. Instrument reliability was found to be good. Conclusions The instruments developed were reliable across the range of countries, and will facilitate future comparative health service research.