Attitudes of Mental Health Professionals Towards the Use of Routine Outcome Monitoring in Psychotherapeutic Inpatient Settings: A Thematic Analysis.

Abstract

Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) involves the systematic recording of patient-reported outcome measures to monitor treatment progress and outcomes within psychotherapy. It represents an evidence-based approach to enhance psychotherapeutic treatment outcomes. However, it remains a rather controversial topic among mental health care professionals (MHP), resulting in its limited use in clinical practice, especially in inpatient settings. This qualitative interview study aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of MHP attitudes towards ROM and its implementation within psychotherapeutic inpatient settings in Germany. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with MHP working in the psychotherapeutic inpatient setting in the German healthcare system. Three independent researchers inductively coded the data, and thematic codebook analysis was used to evaluate the data iteratively. In total, 20 participants (14 medical doctors, and 6 clinical psychologists) with varying levels of working experience participated in the present study. The general attitude towards ROM and its implementation was predominantly positive, with ROM being perceived as a helpful feature to support psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment. However, possible pitfalls requiring careful consideration were highlighted, such as the risk of potential misuse and additional workload. The insights of the present study contribute to the ongoing discourse of ROM in mental health care. The study highlights the importance of proper implementation strategies and transparent communication regarding the relevance, aims, and use of ROM. Moreover, it highlights potential risks and perceived disadvantages associated with ROM, which may be related to implementation barriers and possible negative attitudes among MHP.