Evaluation of the Paper and Smartphone Versions of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report (QIDS-SR16) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) in Depressed Patients in China

PURPOSE: Smartphone-based questionnaires have advantages compared with their paper versions, but there is a lack of consistent research on depressive disorder questionnaires. This study aimed to assess the equivalence between the paper and smartphone versions of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report (QIDS-SR16) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for patients with depressive disorders in psychiatric hospitals in China. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a randomized crossover study of 110 depressed patients recruited from the outpatient department of Beijing Anding Hospital from March 2016 to September 2018. Group 1 completed both the QIDS-SR16 and PHQ-9 in paper format and then completed the smartphone version 1–2 h later. Group 2 completed the scales in the reverse order. Reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The expected ICC was 0.9 (α=0.05). RESULTS: The overall ICC score of the QIDS-SR16 paper and smartphone versions was 0.904 (95% CI: 0.861–0.934), and the ICCs of each item ranged from 0.769 to 0.923. The overall ICC score of the PHQ-9 paper and smartphone versions was 0.951 (95% CI: 0.929–0.967), and the ICCs of each item ranged from 0.779 to 0.914. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the equivalence of the paper and smartphone versions of the PHQ-9 and QIDS-SR16 in depressed patients in China.