Carers' and Users' Expectations of Services-User version (CUES-U): a new instrument to measure the experience of users of mental health services

Background No existing instrument measures all or even most of the issues c onsidered important by users of mental health services. Aims To develop and test a self-assessment instrument to enable users of me ntal health services to rate their experience across the range of domains t hat they consider to be important. Method Relevant domains were identified and a new instrument was drafted an d field tested to examine its psychometric properties. Results The 17-item, self-rated Carers' and Users' Expectations of Services User version (CUES-U) appears acceptable to most service users. Its items have reasonable test - retest reliability and a 'total CUES-U score' correl ates significantly with a total score of the Health of the Nations Outcome Scales (Spearman's p=0.42; P < 0.01). Conclusions The development and testing of CU ES-U suggest that it might be feasible to apply a self-rated measure of the expectations and experience of users of mental health services.