Usefulness of the CANFOR-S for measuring needs among mentally disordered offenders resident in medium or low secure hospital services in the UK:a pilot evaluation

摘要

Background The short form of the forensic version of the Camberwell Assessmentof Needs (CANFOR-S) (Thomas et al., 2003) is of potential value in all clinicalforensic settings, but so far reported mainly with high security hospital patients.Aims To conduct a pilot study of the feasibility of using the CANFOR-S in mediumand low security hospital units and to report preliminary findings there.Methods Thirty-six of 38 patients on one medium secure ward for women, one lowsecure ward for women and one low secure ward for men, all in the same hospital,agreed to participate in the study. Staff and patients completed the CANFOR-S aspart of a larger formal assessment package. Results All the women and 18 of the 20 men completed the CANFOR-S. It wasfound to be easy and quick (25 minutes) to use, and acceptable. Staff and patientratings were similar on all but one item: needs with regard to safety to others, withstaff consistently rating more. Men and women were similar in number of needs, buthad different needs profiles. Those in medium security were generally more needy thanthose in low security.Conclusions and implications for practice The CANFOR-S is feasible for clinicalpractice, with results perceived as useful in treatment planning by patients and staff.More widespread use could improve service planning.