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Administration of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale using interactive voice response technology
J C Mundt1, K A Kobak, L V Taylor
1Dean Foundation for Health, Research, and Education, Middleton, WI 53562, USA.
M.D. Computing : Computers in Medical Practice
|February 12, 1998
Summary
Interactive voice response (IVR) systems reliably assess depression severity, matching human rater scores. This telephone-based method offers new avenues for mental health outcome research.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Medical Informatics
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Assessing depression severity is crucial for effective treatment and outcome research.
- Traditional assessment methods often rely on in-person interviews, which can be resource-intensive.
- The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) is a widely used clinical tool for measuring depressive symptom severity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the reliability and equivalence of depression severity scores obtained via an interactive voice response (IVR) system compared to human raters.
- To assess the validity of short-form IVR interviews for depression assessment.
- To explore the potential of computerized, telephone-based assessments for large-scale outcome research.
Main Methods:
- A total of 367 subjects aged 18-79 participated in the study.
- Subjects completed a 17-item IVR interview assessing depression severity.
- Structured clinical interviews were used to confirm DSM-IV criteria for major depression in a subset of participants.
- Short forms (6- and 8-item) of the IVR interview were also analyzed.
- Score equivalence was tested using linear transformations in a validation sample of 264 subjects.
Main Results:
- The 17-item IVR interview scores demonstrated strong correlation with face-to-face interview results.
- Both short-form (6- and 8-item) IVR interviews also showed significant correlation with traditional assessment methods.
- Linear transformations of IVR data yielded scores equivalent to those obtained from clinical assessments in a validation sample.
- The study confirmed the reliability and equivalence of IVR-derived depression scores.
Conclusions:
- Computerized assessment of depression severity using touch-tone telephone IVR systems is a reliable and valid method.
- IVR-based assessments offer a scalable and efficient approach for mental health outcome research.
- This technology expands opportunities for collecting depression severity data in diverse populations.