![]() ![]() The above characteristics lead to greater variation in how to interpret intentional changes and judge their importance, which is seldom reflected in differences in raw scores on a scale. Context is similarly important for social workers using CMC indicators. However, temperatures above 37 degrees do not necessarily indicate fever without additional contextual information such as the age of the body and normal variation in body temperature (Geneva et al., 2019). For example, we usually consider a normal body temperature level to be 37 degrees Celsius and take that as the cut-off point for fever. In addition, the distribution of the cases manifesting symptoms often overlaps with the range of those not doing so according to the cut-off point on the scale, owing partly to contextual differences. In contrast, measures of an individual’s psychosocial well-being are intrinsically more subjective, and initial states and outcomes are often measured on continuous scales. playing truant) researchers, social workers and families find it easy to speak the same language in evaluating results. In other cases, where outcomes are seemingly simple and unequivocal (e.g., attending school vs. To assess change at the individual level it is important to address questions of measurement reliability and the yardstick for judging when a change is large enough to be considered “important.” Implications for research and practice are discussed.įor many physiologic measures, for example, blood pressure or body temperature level, a consensus has developed through research, training and experience about what changes can be considered important. The examples demonstrated that conclusions regarding CMC can vary depending on the indicator used, the baseline assessment, and the magnitude of raw-score change on the measured outcome. CMC refers to changes in an individual’s outcome measures that are reliable or are large enough to be considered “important.” We present five indicators to analyze CMC in a child’s psychological well-being measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and illustrate their use with two empirical examples from the project Me and My Foster Family. Using indicators of clinically meaningful change (CMC) strengthens social workers’ ability to identify what, if anything, works in any given intervention for their individual clients, and also motivates their curiosity to identify the efficacious components of SAU. Further, the content and effects of “service as usual” (SAU) interventions that social workers typically offer are often not known, making it difficult for social workers to identify what aspects of the intervention any client change can be attributed to. However, research about the effectiveness of interventions is typically presented at the group level, which places great demands on social workers’ ability to apply such results to the needs of individual clients. Social workers use interventions in the expectation that they will make a positive difference for their clients. ![]()
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