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 considered important by users of mental health services. AIMS: To develop and test a self-assessment instrument to enable users of mental health services to rate their experience across the range of domains that they consider to be important. METHOD: Relevant domains were identified and a new instrument was drafted and 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' correlates significantly with a total score of the Health of the Nations Outcome Scales (Spearman's rho=0.42; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The development and testing of CUES-U suggest that it might be feasible to apply a self-rated measure of the expectations and experience of users of mental health services.