The Global Mental Health Assessment Tool-validation in Hindi: A validity and feasibility study

BACKGROUND: A computer-assisted interview, the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool-validation (GMHAT/PC) has been developed to assist general practitioners and other health professionals to make a quick, convenient, yet reasonably comprehensive standardized mental health assessment. GMHAT/PC has been translated into various languages including Hindi. This is the first study conducted in India, using the Hindi version GMHAT/PC of the series of studies assessing its validity in different cultures. AIM: The study aims to assess the feasibility of using a computer assisted diagnostic interview by health professionals and to examine the level of agreement between the Hindi version GMHAT/PC diagnosis and psychiatrists’ ICD-10 based clinical diagnosis. DESIGN: Cross-sectional validation study. SETTING: Psychiatric clinic of a General Hospital and an out patient (Neurology) clinic in the Teaching General Hospital in Jaipur, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All consecutive patients attending the psychiatric out patient clinic were interviewed using GMHAT/PC and psychiatrists made a diagnosis applying ICD-10 criteria for a period of six weeks. A small sample of subjects was interviewed in a similar way in a Neurology clinic for four weeks. RESULTS: The mean duration of interview was under 17 minutes. Most patients were pleased that they were asked about every aspect of their mental health. The agreement between psychologists’ GMHAT/PC interview diagnoses and psychiatrists’ clinical diagnoses was excellent (Kappa 0.96, sensitivity 1.00, and specificity 0.94). CONCLUSION: GMHAT/PC Hindi version detected mental disorders accurately and it was feasible to use GMHAT/PC in Indian settings.