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. 2016 Jun 27:5:1-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2016.06.006. eCollection 2016 Sep.

Interformat reliability of the patient health questionnaire: Validation of the computerized version of the PHQ-9

Doris Erbe  1 , Hans-Christoph Eichert  1 , Christian Rietz  1 , David Ebert  2
Affiliations

Interformat reliability of the patient health questionnaire: Validation of the computerized version of the PHQ-9

Doris Erbe et al. Internet Interv. .

Abstract

Background: Computerized versions of well-established measurements such as the PHQ-9 are widely used, but data on the comparability of psychometric properties are scarce.

Objective: Our objective was to compare the interformat reliability of the paper-and-pen version with a computerized version of the PHQ-9 in a clinical sample.

Methods: 130 participants with mental health disorders were recruited during psychotherapeutic treatment in a mental health clinic. In a crossover design, they all completed the PHQ-9 in both the computerized and paper-and-pen versions in randomized order.

Results: The internal consistency was comparable for the computer (α = 0.88) and paper versions (α = 0.89), and highly significant correlations were found between the formats (r = 0.92). PHQ-9 total scores were not significantly different between the paper and the computer delivered versions. There was a significant interaction effect between format and order of administration for the PHQ-9, indicating that the first administration delivered slightly higher scores.

Limitations: In order to reduce the required effort for the participants, we did not ask them to fill out anything but the PHQ-9 once in paper and once in computer version.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the PHQ-9 can be transferred to computerized use without affecting psychometric properties in a clinically meaningful way.

Keywords: Assessment; Computer; Depression; Interformat reliability; Internet; PHQ-9; Psychometric; Questionnaire.

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