QUALITY ASSURANCE IN CLINICAL SOCIAL-WORK - HOW DO SOCIAL-WORKERS ESTIMATE THE OUTCOME OF THEIR INTERVENTIONS

Therapy outcome is an important criterium for quality assurance. In th is study, clinical social workers themselves estimated the outcome of their interventions in 2643 admissions of 2038 patients to a psychiatr ic hospital, These inpatients had been referred by a psychiatrist to t he social worker and comprised 27 % of all patients admitted to the ho spital within 11 years. The study purpose was to investigate how the o utcome estimates relate to clinical and sociodemographic variables of the patients, to their specific problems, and to the applied intervent ions. The fewer areas of problems were perceived and the more interven tions were performed, the more positive these interventions were evalu ated. Administrative interventions were seen as more successful than c ounseling. Outcome estimates were particulary positive in long and int ensive therapies.