SERVICE ENGAGEMENT SCALE

Tait L, Birchwood M, Trower P: A new scale (SES) to measure engagement with community mental health services. Journal of Mental Health 2002, 11(2):191-198.

The Service Engagement Scale (SES) includes 14 questions to measure service user engagement. The SES is a practical, reliable, and valid measure of engagement with services that can be completed quickly. It was developed on an inner city client group with first episode psychosis.

The SES is widely used within Early Intervention Services, and by researchers. It is included in a computerised assessment package (MiData) adopted by UK National Health Services:

MiData: Fisher H, Theodore K, Power P, Chisholm B, Fuller J, Marlowe K, Aitchison KJ, Tanna R, Joyce J, Sacks M, Craig T, Johnson S: Routine evaluation in first episode psychosis services: feasibility and results from the MiData project. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology 2008, 43:960-967.

Engagement is a process, and is not yet fully understood. Engagement with services can be viewed from both the service user and clinician perspective. Developing our understanding of engagement with services, as well as what factors affect engagement, has implications for clinical practice, professional training, and the development of services to best meet the needs of service users.

The author has an academic blog on this website.