Increasing the feasibility of the role functioning scale as a measure of consumer outcomes in a rural personal helpers and mentors service

Assessment of outcomes of mental health services is a priority area in Australia’s National Mental Health Plan. The Personal Helpers and Mentors (PHaMs) service, a key initiative of the National Action Plan on Mental Health, helps people with severe mental illness to achieve well-being through social inclusion (e.g. participation in community activities, education and employment). A recent national evaluation of PHaMs recommended that standard data collection procedures be supplemented by the measurement of ‘client progress towards outcomes’ (p. 56). In this study, the Role Functioning Scale (RFS) was assessed for its feasibility for this purpose in a rural PHaMs service.