Measuring the concurrent validity of the norwegian versions of the psychotic symptom rating scales (PSYRATS) and the positive scale from the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS).

PURPOSE: The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is one of the most commonly used assessment tools for measuring psychotic symptoms. The Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS) is another instrument created specifically to assess delusions and auditory hallucinations. However, research on the concurrent validity of PSYRATS with PANSS is limited. There are also inconsistent findings regarding the association between the PSYRATS scales and the PANSS positive scale. The present study aims to add to the understanding of the concurrent validity of these measures, while also incorporating a broader measure of psychiatric symptoms (the symptom scale from the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale - split version, GAF-S). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Spearman's Rank Order Correlations (rho) were calculated for scores from the PANSS positive scale, PSYRATS and GAF-S in a sample of 148 participants with psychotic disorders at three time points. RESULTS: The findings indicate concurrent validity between PSYRATS and PANSS, while the PSYRATS scales were not consistently correlated with GAF-S. CONCLUSIONS: PSYRATS may be a valid assessment tool for evaluating psychotic symptoms. The utility of PSYRATS in research and clinical practice should be investigated further.

Vocational rehabilitation for adults with psychotic disorders in a Scandinavian welfare society.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the outcomes of a vocational rehabilitation program (The Job Management Program, JUMP) for persons with psychotic disorders based on close collaboration between health and welfare services. METHODS: Participants (N = 148) with broad schizophrenia spectrum disorders (age 18-65) were recruited from six counties in Norway. Three counties were randomized to vocational rehabilitation augmented with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), while the remaining three counties were randomized to vocational rehabilitation augmented with cognitive remediation (CR). This paper compares the vocational activity of the total group of JUMP participants with a treatment as usual group (N = 341), and further examines differences between the two JUMP interventions. Employment status (working/not working) was registered at the time of inclusion and at the end of the intervention period. RESULTS: The total number of JUMP participants in any kind of vocational activity increased from 17 to 77% during the intervention. Of these, 8% had competitive employment, 36% had work placements in ordinary workplaces with social security benefits as their income, and 33% had sheltered work. The total number of working participants in the TAU group increased from 15.5 to 18.2%. The JUMP group showed significant improvements of positive (t = -2.33, p = 0.02) and general (t = -2.75, p = 0.007) symptoms of psychosis. Significant differences between the CBT and CR interventions were not demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: The study supports existing evidence that the majority of persons with broad schizophrenia spectrum disorders can cope with some kind of work, given that internal and external barriers are reduced. Those who wish to work should be offered vocational rehabilitation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01139502 . Registered on 6 February 2010.

A short history of individual placement and support in Norway.

OBJECTIVE: Norway is a high-income and high-cost society with a generous welfare system, and it has the largest mental health-related unemployment gap of the OECD countries. The aim of the current article was to present a short history of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services to increase work participation in Norway. METHOD: We provide a narrative overview of the developments and research on IPS in Norway, from the introduction of supported employment to recent and ongoing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effectiveness of IPS for various target groups. FINDINGS: While vocational rehabilitation services in Norway have traditionally followed a train-then-place approach, the introduction of supported employment in the early 1990s led to a range of new initiatives to increase work participation. Early implementations were inspired by supported employment but did not follow the evidence-based IPS methodology. More recent developments include a shift toward evidence-based IPS, and the first Norwegian RCT of IPS showed effectiveness on both work- and health-related outcomes among people with moderate to severe mental illness. Several ongoing trials are currently investigating IPS for new target groups, including chronic pain patients and refugees. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The results suggest that IPS is more effective than traditional approaches to increase work participation, even in the Norwegian context of a high-cost welfare society. IPS has shown effectiveness in severe as well as more common types of mental illness in Norway, and results from ongoing trials will further reveal whether IPS may be expanded to various new target groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).