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Automating standard alcohol use assessment instruments via interactive voice response technology
James C Mundt1, Michael J Bohn, Monica King
1Healthcare Technology Systems, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin 53717, USA. mundj@healthtechsys.com
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research
|April 20, 2002
Summary
Interactive voice response (IVR) offers a reliable method for collecting self-report data in alcohol treatment. IVR and paper assessments show similar results, with IVR offering procedural standardization and electronic data storage.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Psychology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology integrates telephones with computer-automated data processing for remote data collection.
- IVR presents a convenient and efficient method for gathering self-report data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the reliability and validity of IVR versus paper/pencil methods for collecting self-report data in an alcohol treatment population.
- To assess the test-retest reliability and intermethod correlations of various psychological scales administered via IVR and paper/pencil.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-six subjects from an outpatient alcohol treatment center completed multiple questionnaires via IVR and paper/pencil formats.
- Instruments included demographic and drinking history, Stages of Change, Drinker Inventory of Consequences, Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale, Alcohol Dependence Scale, and craving scales.
- Data collection was repeated after 1 week, with counterbalanced administration order to control for order effects.
Main Results:
- All instruments showed significant intermethod correlations within sessions, indicating convergent validity.
- Both IVR and paper/pencil methods demonstrated significant test-retest reliability, except for numerical rating scales.
- Alcohol Dependence Scale scores were lower with IVR; IVR calls averaged 34 minutes, while paper/pencil completion and data entry averaged 29 minutes.
Conclusions:
- IVR technology is a viable and convenient alternative for collecting self-report measures in treatment outcome studies.
- Both IVR and paper/pencil assessments yield highly convergent data with good test-retest reliability.
- Adaptation of existing instruments for IVR requires consideration, as demonstrated by Alcohol Dependence Scale score differences, but IVR offers benefits like standardization and electronic storage.