Background
The Community Mental Health (CMH) assessment system has been developed by interRAI to complement the Mental Health and the Home Care systems. The CMH is designed to be used for community-based individuals with a broad range of mental and physical health needs.
Target Population
All adults aged 18 and over in community mental health settings including those with dual diagnoses.
Domains
- Identification Information
- Intake and Initial History
- Mental State Indicators
- Substance Use or Excessive Behaviour
- Harm to Self and Others
- Behaviour
- Cognition
- Functional Status
- Communication and Vision
- Health Conditions
- Stress and Trauma
- Medications
- Service Utilization and Treatments
- Control of Procedures and Observation
- Nutrional Status
- Social Relations
- Employment, Education, and Finances
- Environmental Assessment
- Diagnostic Information
- Discharge
- Assessment Information
Development Activities
The CMH research team used a variety of research approaches including consultations with clinicians and researchers, analysis of MH and HC system data, and systematic reviews of the literature. Pilot testing of the draft version of the instrument began with large scale trials in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. Research on the psychometric properties will include studies of inter-rater reliability and validiation against gold standard measures of depression, psychotic symptoms, social adjustment, behaviour disturbance, mental status, and well-being.
One particularly important area of research has been the articulation of the CMH with the MH instrument. It is expected that the CMH will be of particular interest to meet the information needs of organizations that serve out-patient populations who have already adopted the MH for in-patient services. Therefore, it will be essential that these instruments can function in a complementary manner to address mental health needs across multiple settings.
Research and Development Team
John Hirdes, University of Waterloo & Homewood Research Institute (Canada)
Lynn Martin, University of Waterloo & Homewood Research Institute (Canada)
Nancy Curtin-Telegdi, University of Waterloo & Homewood Research Institute (Canada)
Terry Rabinowitz, Fletcher Allen Health Care (USA)
Brant Fries, University of Michigan (USA)
John Morris, Hebrew Rehabilitation Centre for the Aged (USA)
Naoki Ikegami, Keio University (Japan)
Keita Yamauchi, Keio University (Japan)
Edgardo Perez, Homewood Health Centre (Canada)
Trevor Frise Smith, University of Waterloo (Canada)
Languages Available
For further information on the CMH contact:
John P. Hirdes, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, & Scientific Director, Homewood Research Institute, Canada
Email: hirdes@uwaterloo.ca
