Aims, outcome measures, study sites and patient sample - EPSILON Study 1

Background Cross-national research into the care of people with severe ment al illnesses is hampered by a lack of standardised measures. The European P sychiatric Services: Inputs Linked to Outcome Domains and Needs (EPSILON) S tudy is a European Union funded project within the BIOMED-2 programme. The project aims to develop standardised instruments to facilitate future cross national research. Aims To describe the aims, outcome measures, study sites and patient sample s of the EPSILON Study. Method, results,conclusions See companion papers in this supplement. Declaration of interest No conflict of interest. Funding detailed in Acknow ledgements.