The needs and resources assessment interview for severely mentally ill adults

The authors report an analysis of the reliability and validity of the Needs and Resources Assessment, an interview instrument that measures patients' needs and resources in 13 domains of functioning and rates patients' overall satisfaction with each domain and the importance of each need. Internal consistency of the instrument's four subscales-- needs, resources, satisfaction, and importance--ranged from .66 to .81, and test-retest reliability of the instrument ranged from .71 to .86. The subscales showed significant correlations with independent scales measuring size of the patient's support network, quality of life, and depressive symptoms. The Needs and Resources Assessment may be useful for prioritizing a patient's needs in developing an intervention plan in rehabilitation settings.