Reliability of the Camberwell assessment of need (Chinese version) for patients with schizophrenia at a daycare center of Taiwan

Background Despite its wide use in different cultures and languages, there has been no report about the Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN) in Chinese patients. Method Forty-one Chinese chronic schizophrenic patients were interviewed to test the interrater reliability and test–retest reliability of the Chinese version of CAN. Results The interrater reliability ranged from 0.82 to 0.98 when computed by intraclass correlations (ICC) for the numbers of needs and from 0.65 to 1.00 by Cohen’s κ coefficients for individual domain. The test–retest reliability was moderate to good for the numbers of needs (ICC= 0.64–0.81), but varied when counted by Cohen’s κ coefficients for individual domain. Conclusion Although limited by the homogeneity and small sample size of the study group, this is the first trial of the CAN in Chinese culture. The satisfactory reliability and easy application make this instrument suitable for clinical use in Chinese culture