A Comparison of Psychometric Properties Between Internet and Paper Versions of Two Depression Instruments (BDI-II and MADRS-S) Administered to Clinic Patients Internet Versus Mailed Questionnaires: A Randomized Comparison The Work Limitations Questionnaire Detecting common mental disorders in primary care in India: a comparison of five screening questionnaires. Workplace Telecommunications Technology to Identify Mental Health Disorders and Facilitate Self-Help or Professional Referrals The use of research questionnaires with hearing impaired adults: online vs. paper-and-pencil administration Electronic pain questionnaires: A randomized, crossover comparison with paper questionnaires for chronic pain assessment A randomized controlled trial to assess the psychological impact of a family history screening questionnaire in general practice. The validity of the Dutch Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SDQ). A comparison of an electronic version of the SF-36 General Health Questionnaire to the standard paper version Validation of a specific quality of life questionnaire for functional digestive disorders The Shona Symptom Questionnaire: the development of an indigenous measure of common mental disorders in Harare Validation of the French version of the Bournemouth Questionnaire. The FIP study: a randomised, controlled trial of screening and recognition of psychiatric disorders. Response Rate and Completeness of Questionnaires: A Randomized Study of Internet Versus Paper-and-Pencil Versions Comparison of Internet-Based and Paper-Based Questionnaires in Taiwan Using Multisample Invariance Approach Satisfaction of patients hospitalised in psychiatric hospitals: a randomised comparison of two psychiatric-specific and one generic satisfaction questionnaires
Background Self-report measures can guide clinical decisions and are useful when evaluating treatment outcomes . However , many clinicians do not use self-report measures systematic ally in their clinical practice . Internet-based question naires could facilitate administration , but the psychometric properties of the online version of an instrument should be explored before implementation . The recommendation from the International Test Commission is to test the psychometric properties of each question naire separately . Objective Our objective was to compare the psychometric properties of paper- and -pencil versions and Internet versions of two question naires measuring depressive symptoms . Methods The 87 participating patients were recruited from primary care and psychiatric care within the public health care system in Sweden . Participants completed the  Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI-II )  and the  Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale — Self-rated ( MADRS-S )  , both on paper and on the Internet . The order was r and omized to control for order effects . Symptom severity in the sample ranged from mild to severe depressive symptoms . Results Psychometric properties of the two administration formats were mostly equivalent . The internal consistency was similar for the Internet and paper versions , and significant correlations were found between the formats for both MADRS-S ( r = .84 ) and the BDI-II ( r = .89 ) . Differences between paper and Internet total scores were not statistically significant for either question naire nor for the MADRS-S question dealing with suicidality ( item 9 ) when analyzed separately . The score on the BDI-II question about suicidality ( item 9 ) was significantly lower when administered via the Internet compared with the paper score , but the difference was small ( effect size , Cohen ’s [ d ] = 0.14 ) . There were significant main effects for order of administration on both question naires and significant interaction effects between format and order . This should not , however , pose a problem in clinical use as long as the administration format is not changed when repeated measurements are made . Conclusions The MADRS-S can be transferred to online use without affecting the psychometric properties in a clinical ly meaningful way . The full BDI-II also seems to retain its properties when transferred ; however , the item measuring suicidality in the Internet version needs further investigation since it was associated with a lower score in this study . The use of online question naires offers clinicians a more practical way of measuring depressive symptoms and has the potential to save re sources Background The use of Internet-based question naires for collection of data to evaluate patient education and other interventions has increased in recent years . Many self-report instruments have been vali date d using paper- and -pencil versions , but we can not assume that the psychometric properties of an Internet-based version will be identical . Objectives To look at similarities and differences between the Internet versions and the paper- and -pencil versions of 16 existing self-report instruments useful in evaluation of patient interventions . Methods Participants were recruited via the Internet and volunteered to participate ( N=397 ) , after which they were r and omly assigned to fill out question naires online or via mailed paper- and -pencil versions . The self-report instruments measured were overall health , health distress , practice mental stress management , Health Assessment Question naire ( HAQ ) disability , illness intrusiveness , activity limitations , visual numeric for pain , visual numeric for shortness of breath , visual numeric for fatigue , self-efficacy for managing disease , aerobic exercise , stretching and strengthening exercise , visits to MD , hospitalizations , hospital days , and emergency room visits . Means , ranges , and confidence intervals are given for each instrument within each type of question naire . The results from the two question naires were compared using both parametric and non-parametric tests . Reliability tests were given for multi-item instruments . A separate sample ( N=30 ) filled out identical question naires over the Internet within a few days and correlations were used to assess test-retest reliability . Results Out of 16 instruments , none showed significant differences when the appropriate tests were used . Construct reliability was similar within each type of question naire , and Internet test-retest reliability was high . Internet question naires required less follow-up to achieve a slightly ( non-significant ) higher completion rate compared to mailed question naires . Conclusions Among a convenience sample recruited via the Internet , results from those r and omly assigned to Internet participation were at least as good as , if not better than , among those assigned mailed question naires , with less recruitment effort required . The instruments administered via the Internet appear to be reliable , and to be answered similarly to the way they are answered when they are administered via traditional mailed paper question naires Objective .The objective of this work was to develop a psychometrically sound question naire for measuring the on-the-job impact of chronic health problems and /or treatment ( “ work limitations ” ) . Research Design .Three pilot studies ( focus groups , cognitive interviews , and an alternate forms test ) generated c and i date items , dimensions , and response scales . Two field trials tested the psychometric performance of the question naire ( studies 1 and 2 ) . To test recall error , study 1 subjects were r and omly assigned to 2 different question naire groups , a question naire with a 4-week reporting period completed once or a 2-week version completed twice . Responses were compared with data from concurrent work limitation diaries ( the gold st and ard ) . To test construct validity , we compared question naire scores of patients with those of healthy job-matched control subjects . Study 2 was a cross-sectional mail survey testing scale reliability and construct validity . Subjects . The study subjects were employed individuals ( 18–64 years of age ) from several chronic condition groups ( study 1 , n = 48 ; study 2 , n = 121 ) and , in study 1 , 17 healthy matched control subjects . Measures . Study 1 included the assigned question naires and weekly diaries . Study 2 included the new question naire , SF-36 , and work productivity loss items . Results .In study 1 , question naire responses were consistent with diary data but were most highly correlated with the most recent week . Patients had significantly higher ( worse ) limitation scores than control subjects . In study 2 , 4 scales from a 25-item question naire achieved Cronbach alphas of ≥0.90 and correlated with health status and self-reported work productivity in the hypothesized manner ( P ≤0.05 ) . Conclusions .With 25 items , 4 dimensions ( limitations h and ling time , physical , mental-interpersonal , and output dem and s ) , and a 2-week reporting period , the Work Limitations Question naire demonstrated high reliability and validity BACKGROUND Screening of patients for common mental disorders ( CMDs ) is needed in primary -care management programmes . This study aim ed to compare the screening properties of five widely used question naires . METHOD Adult attenders in five primary -care setting s in India were recruited through systematic sampling . Four question naires were administered , in pairs , in r and om order to participants : the General Health Question naire ( GHQ , 12 items ) ; the Primary Health Question naire ( PHQ , nine items ) ; the  Kessler Psychological Distress Scale  ( K10 , 10 items ) , and from which we could extract the score of the shorter 6-item K6 ; and the Self-Reporting Question naire ( SRQ , 20 items ) . All participants were interviewed with a structured lay diagnostic interview , the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule ( CIS-R ) . RESULTS Complete data were available for 598 participants ( participation rate 99.3 % ) . All five question naires showed moderate to high discriminating ability ; the GHQ and SRQ showed the best results . All five showed moderate to high degrees of correlation with one another , the poorest being between the two shortest question naires , K6 and PHQ . All five had relatively good internal consistency . However , the positive predictive value ( PPV ) of the question naires compared with the diagnostic interview ranged from 51 % to 77 % at the optimal cut-off scores . CONCLUSIONS There is little difference in the ability of these question naires to identify cases accurately , but none showed high PPVs without a considerable compromise on sensitivity . Hence , the choice of an optimum cut-off score that yields the best balance between sensitivity and PPV may need to be tailored to individual setting s , with a higher cut-off being recommended in re source -limited primary -care setting Purpose . Test the feasibility and impact of an automated workplace mental health assessment and intervention . Design . Efficacy was evaluated in a r and omized control trial comparing employees who received screening and intervention with those who received only screening .  Setting . Workplace . Subjects . 463 volunteers from Boston Medical Center , Boston University , and EMC and other employed adults , among whom 164 were r and omized to the intervention ( N = 87 ) and control ( N = 77 ) groups . Intervention . The system administers a panel of telephonic assessment instruments followed by tailored information , education , and referrals . Measures . The Work Limitation Question naire , the Medical Outcomes Question naire Short Form-12 , the Patient Health Question naire-9 , question 10 from the Patient Health Question naire to measure functional impairment , and the Perceived Stress Scale-4 and questions written by study psychiatrists to measure emotional distress and social support respectively . The WHO-Five Well-being Index was administered to measure overall well-being . Analysis . Independent sample t-tests and χ2 tests as well as mean change were used to compare the data . Results . No significant differences on 16 of the 20 comparisons at 3- and 6-month time points . The intervention group showed a significant improvement in depression ( p ≤ .05 ) at 3 months and on two Work Limitation Question naire subscales , the Mental-Interpersonal Scale ( p ≤ .05 ) and the Time and Scheduling Scale ( p ≤ .05 ) , at 3 and 6 months respectively with a suggestive improvement in mental health at 6 months ( p ≤ .10 ) . Conclusions . This is a potentially fruitful area for research with important implication s for workplace behavioral interventions . ( Am J Health Promot 2011;25[3]:207–216 . Background When evaluating hearing rehabilitation , it is reasonable to use self-report question naires as outcome measure . Question naires used in audiological research are developed and vali date d for the paper- and -pencil format . As computer and Internet use is increasing , st and ardized question naires used in the audiological context should be evaluated to determine the viability of the online administration format . The aim of this study was to compare administration of question naires online versus paper- and pencil of four st and ardised question naires used in hearing research and clinic . We included the Hearing H and icap Inventory for the Elderly ( HHIE ) , the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids ( IOI-HA ) , Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life ( SADL ) , and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale ( HADS ) . Methods A cross-over design was used by r and omly letting the participants complete the question naires either online or on paper . After 3 weeks the participants filled out the same question naires again but in the other format . A total of 65 hearing-aid users were recruited from a hearing clinic to participate on a voluntary basis and of these 53 completed both versions of the question naires . Results A significant main effect of format was found on the HHIE ( p < 0.001 ) , with participants reporting higher scores on the online format than in the paper format . There was no interaction effect . For the other question naires were no significant main or interaction effects of format . Significant correlations between the two ways of presenting the measures was found for all question naires ( p<0.05 ) . The results from reliability tests showed Cronbachs α ’s above .70 for all four question naires and differences in Cronbachs α between administration formats were negligible . Conclusions For three of the four included question naires the participants ’ scores remained consistent across administrations and formats . For the fourth included question naire ( HHIE ) a significant difference of format with a small effect size was found . The relevance of the difference in scores between the formats depends on which context the question naire is used in . On balance , it is recommended that the administration format remain stable across assessment points & NA ; Electronic question naires for pain assessment are becoming increasingly popular . There have been no published reports to establish the equivalence or psychometric properties of common pain question naires administered via desktop computers . This study compared responses to paper ( P ) and touch screen electronic ( E ) versions of the Short‐Form McGill Pain Question naire ( SF‐MPQ ) and Pain Disability Index ( PDI ) , while examining the role of computer anxiety and experience , and evaluating patient acceptance . In a r and omized , crossover design 189 chronic pain patients completed P and E versions of the SF‐MPQ and PDI , and self‐ratings of anxiety , experience , relative ease and preference . Psychometric properties were highly similar for P and E question naires . For the SF‐MPQ , 60 % or more of subjects gave equivalent responses on individual descriptors and PPI scale , with 80 % rating within ±1 point for an 11‐point VAS . Correlations for the SF‐MPQ scales ranged from 0.68 to 0.84 . For the PDI , 60 % or more of subjects responded within ±1 point on individual questions , and the total score correlation was 0.67 . Comparison of mean difference scores revealed no significant differences between modes for any of the question naire items or scores . Anxiety and experience scores showed no significant associations through correlations and high/low comparisons . Although nearly half of subjects reported no computer training , anxiety ratings were low , and considerably more subjects rated the E question naires as easier and preferred . Findings are consistent with test‐retest reliability data , and support the validity and acceptance of electronic versions of the SF‐MPQ and PDI BACKGROUND It has been postulated that systematic enquiry about patients ' family histories of inherited illnesses would lead to a population of ' worried well ' . OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to evaluate if the use of a family history screening question naire ( FHSQ ) as part of a general practice health check leads to psychological distress . METHOD We conducted a r and omized controlled trial of a self-administered FHSQ in a single general practice . Individuals who had not had a health check within the previous 2 years were r and omized within three age group strata to intervention group ( receiving health check and FHSQ ) or control group ( only receiving health check ) . A total of 156 patients were offered health checks ; 100 accepted and 76 of them were followed through to the 3-month end point . Responses to the six-item Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory ( STAI ) , Perception of Health question naire and Family History Concern question naire were compared between intervention and control groups . RESULTS A two-way analysis of variance on the STAI scores 1 and 2 weeks after the health check with baseline scores as a covariate showed that at both times anxiety was higher in the intervention group than in the controls ( F = 6.4 ; d.f . = 1,73 ; P = 0.014 ) . Three months later , there was no significant difference between the two groups . The Perception of Health question naire only showed a significant result at 1 week , the intervention group having a more pessimistic response to the question eliciting patient 's concerns about future health ( P = 0.025 ) . CONCLUSION Short-term psychological distress due to the family history screening question naire was identified but did not persist The Sleep Disorders Question naire ( SDQ ) is a 176-item question naire design ed to diagnose the presence of common sleep disorders . This study set out to assess the validity of a Dutch translation of the SDQ . Scores on 145 question naires were analyzed . A cluster analysis of these scores revealed the following clusters : healthy , depression , insomnia , narcolepsy , and apnea . The cluster classification proved correct for 67 % of the subjects , as determined on the basis of polysomnography . These results show that the Dutch  SDQ  is a reasonably valid instrument for diagnosing sleep disorders Because of its sound psychometric properties the SF-36 General Health Question naire is used throughout the world , yet it is difficult to analyse and score . Using a newly developed software package , onto which any question naire can be loaded , we developed an electronic version of the SF-36 General Health Question naire . The purpose of this study is test the effect of the electronic mode of administration on the measurement properties of the SF-36 . In a r and omised cross-over design study 79 healthy individuals and 36 chronic pain patients completed both electronic and paper versions of the SF-36 . Seventy-one percent preferred the electronic SF-36 , 7 % stated no preference , and 22 % preferred the paper version . Completion time for the electronic SF-36 was slightly less , and there were no missing or problematical responses , whereas 44 % of participants had at least one missing or problematical response in the paper version . Data entry and auditing time was 8 hours . There was less than 4 % inter-version difference for any of the SF-36 sub-scales . The electronic SF-36 was well accepted and slightly quicker to complete than the paper version . We conclude that the electronic SF-36 is equivalent in performance and more effective than the paper version BACKGROUND Dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome are suitable conditions for assessment of quality of life . Their similarities justify the elaboration of a single specific question naire for the two conditions . AIMS To examine the process leading to the validation of the psychometric properties of the functional digestive disorders  quality of life question naire ( FDDQL ) . METHODS Initially , the question naire was given to 154 patients , to assess its acceptability and reproducibility , analyse its content , and reduce the number of items . Its responsiveness was tested during two therapeutic trials which included 428 patients . The question naire has been translated into French , English , and German . The psychometric validation study was conducted in France , United Kingdom , and Germany by 187 practitioners . A total of 401 patients with dyspepsia or irritable bowel syndrome , defined by the Rome criteria , filled in the FDDQL and generic SF-36 question naires . RESULTS The structure of the FDDQL scales was checked by factorial analysis . Its reliability was expressed by a Cronbach ’s α coefficient of 0.94 . Assessment of its discriminant validity showed that the more severe the functional digestive disorders , the more impaired the quality of life ( p<0.05 ) . Concurrent validity was supported by the correlation found between the FDDQL and SF-36 question naire scales . The final version of the question naire contains 43 items belonging to eight domains . CONCLUSIONS The properties of the FDDQL question naire , available in French , English , and German , make it appropriate for use in clinical trials design ed to evaluate its responsiveness to treatment among patients with dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome The objective of this study was to develop an indigenous measure of common mental disorders ( CMD ) in the Shona language in Zimbabwe . Ethnographic and qualitative studies elicited idioms of distress of mental disorder leading to the preliminary Shona Symptom Question naire ( SSQ ) , and items from the Self‐Report Question naire ( SRQ ) were added to it . The 56‐item Preliminary Shona Symptom Question naire ( PSSQ ) was administered to 302 r and omly selected primary care attenders , of whom 100 were classified as cases on the basis of agreement between care provider assessment and a psychiatric interview . Discriminant analysis identified 14 items that were the strongest predictors of mental disorder . The 14‐item  SSQ has a high level of internal consistency ( Cronbach 's alpha=0.85 ) . The items are a mixture of emic and etic phenomena . The total score correlates strongly with patients ' self‐ assessment of the emotional nature of their illness . Satisfactory specificity and sensitivity occurred at a cut‐off point of 7/8 . The SSQ is the first indigenous measure of mental disorder developed in sub‐Saharan Africa to have included idioms of distress of primary care attenders and involved patients consulting traditional medical practitioners . It promises to be a useful instrument for epidemiological and clinical research . The methodology used is an innovative way of combining etic and emic methods in the evaluation of CMD Self question naires are an important aspect of the management of neck pain patients . The Bournemouth Question naire ( BQ ) , based on the biopsychosocial model , is design ed to evaluate patients with neck pain . The vali date d English version of this question naire ( BQc-English ) has psychometric properties that range from moderate to excellent . The goal of this study is to translate and vali date a French version of the Bournemouth Question naire for neck pain patients ( BQc-f ) . Its translation and adaptation are performed using the translation back-translation method , generating a consensus among the translators . This validation study was performed on 68 subjects ( mean age 41 years old ) who participated in a r and omized controlled trial regarding the efficiency of manual therapy for neck pain patients . This experimental protocol was design ed to generate data in order to evaluate the construct validity , longitudinal validity , test-retest reliability and responsiveness . The BQc-f psychometric properties of construct validity ( r = 0.67 , 0.61 , 0.42 ) for pre treatment , post treatment and longitudinal validity , respectively ) , test-retest reliability ( r = 0.97 ) and responsiveness ( effect size = 0.56 and mean st and ardized response = 0.61 ) are sufficient to suggest it could be used in the management of patients with neck pain BACKGROUND Research on question naires as screening tools for psychiatric disorders has yielded conflicting results . AIM To examine the effect of a routinely administered question naire on recognition of common psychiatric disorders in general practice . DESIGN OF STUDY R and omised controlled trial . SETTING Twenty-eight general practice s in Aarhus County , Denmark . METHOD Thirty-eight general practitioners ( GPs ) and 1785 consecutive patients , aged 18 - 65 years old , presenting with a new health problem , participated . Before consultation , patients were screened using a brief screening question naire ( SQ ) including somatisation , anxiety , depression , and alcohol abuse scales . Patients were r and omised to one of two groups : 900 question naires were disclosed and scored by the GPs , 885 were blinded . A stratified sub sample of 701 patients was interviewed after the consultation using a st and ardised psychiatric research interview ( SCAN ) . RESULTS Overall the GPs ' recognition rates were 14 % ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] = -2 to 30 ) better for depression and 35 % ( 95 % CI = 2 to 68 ) better for alcohol problems when SQs were disclosed . Recognition rates for anxiety improved 8 % ( 95 % CI = -9 to 26 ) overall . In the case of somatoform disorders , disclosure showed no effect overall . Among those with high SQ scores , however , disclosure increased recognition rates on any mental disorder evaluated . CONCLUSION This study demonstrated limited usefulness for routine screening for common psychiatric disorders . However , findings suggest that the SQ may be useful for case-finding among a subgroup of patients with high SQ scores Background Research in quality of life traditionally relies on paper- and -pencil question naires . Easy access to the Internet has inspired a number of studies that use the Internet to collect question naire data . However , Internet-based data collection may differ from traditional methods with respect to response rate and data quality as well as the validity and reliability of the involved scales . Objective We used a r and omized design to compare a paper- and -pencil question naire with an Internet version of the same question naire with respect to differences in response rate and completeness of data . Methods Women referred for mammography at a Danish public hospital from September 2004 to April 2005 , aged less than 67 years and without a history of breast cancer , were eligible for the study . The women received the invitation to participate along with the usual letter from the Department of Radiology . A total of 533 women were invited to participate . They were r and omized to receive either a paper question naire , with a prepaid return envelope , or a guideline on how to fill in the Internet-based version online . The question naire consisted of 17 pages with a total of 119 items , including the Short Form-36 , Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 , Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale , and questions regarding social status , education level , occupation , and access to the Internet . Nonrespondents received a postal reminder giving them the option of filling out the other version of the question naire . Results The response rate before the reminder was 17.9 % for the Internet group compared to 73.2 % for the paper- and -pencil group ( risk difference 55.3 % , P < .001 ) . After the reminder , when the participant could chose between versions of the question naire , the total response rate for the Internet and paper- and -pencil group was 64.2 % and 76.5 % , respectively ( risk difference 12.2 % , P = .002 ) . For the Internet version , 97.8 % filled in a complete question naire without missing data , while 63.4 % filled in a complete question naire for the paper- and -pencil version ( risk difference 34.5 % , P < .001 ) . Conclusions The Internet version of the question naire was superior with respect to completeness of data , but the response rate in this population of unselected patients was low . The general population has yet to become more familiar with the Internet before an online survey can be the first choice of research ers , although it is worthwhile considering within selected population s of patients as it saves re sources and provides more complete answers . An Internet version may be combined with the traditional version of a question naire , and in follow-up studies of patients it may be more feasible to offer Internet versions This study examines whether the Internet-based question naire is psychometrically equivalent to the paper-based question naire . A r and om sample of 2,400 teachers in Taiwan was divided into experimental and control groups . The experimental group was invited to complete the electronic form of the Chinese version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ( CES-D ) placed on the Internet , whereas the control group was invited to complete the paper-based CES-D , which they received by mail . The multi sample invariance approach , derived from structural equation modeling ( SEM ) , was applied to analyze the collected data . The analytical results show that the two groups have equivalent factor structures in the CES-D. That is , the items in CES-D function equivalently in the two groups . Then the e quality of latent mean test was performed . The latent means of " depressed mood , " " positive affect , " and " interpersonal problems " in CES-D are not significantly different between these two groups . However , the difference in the " somatic symptoms " latent means between these two groups is statistically significant at alpha = 0.01 . But the Cohen 's d statistics indicates that such differences in latent means do not apparently lead to a meaningful effect size in practice . Both CES-D question naires exhibit equal validity , reliability , and factor structures and exhibit a little difference in latent means . Therefore , the Internet-based question naire represents a promising alternative to the paper-based question naire Background While there is interest in measuring the satisfaction of patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals , it might be important to determine whether surveys of psychiatric patients should employ generic or psychiatry-specific instruments . The aim of this study was to compare two psychiatric-specific and one generic question naires assessing patients ' satisfaction after a hospitalisation in a psychiatric hospital . Methods We r and omised adult patients discharged from two Swiss psychiatric university hospitals between April and September 2004 , to receive one of three instruments : the Saphora-Psy question naire , the Perceptions of Care survey question naire or the Picker Institute question naire for acute care hospitals . In addition to the comparison of response rates , completion time , mean number of missing items and mean ceiling effect , we targeted our comparison on patients and asked them to answer ten evaluation questions about the question naire they had just completed . Results 728 out of 1550 eligible patients ( 47 % ) participated in the study . Across question naires , response rates were similar ( Saphora-Psy : 48.5 % , Perceptions of Care : 49.9 % , Picker : 43.4 % ; P = 0.08 ) , average completion time was lowest for the Perceptions of Care question naire ( minutes : Saphora-Psy : 17.7 , Perceptions of Care : 13.7 , Picker : 17.5 ; P = 0.005 ) , the Saphora-Psy question naire had the largest mean proportion of missing responses ( Saphora-Psy : 7.1 % , Perceptions of Care : 2.8 % , Picker : 4.0 % ; P < 0.001 ) and the Perceptions of Care question naire showed the highest ceiling effect ( Saphora-Psy : 17.1 % , Perceptions of Care : 41.9 % , Picker : 36.3 % ; P < 0.001 ) . There were no differences in the patients ' evaluation of the question naires . Conclusion Despite differences in the intended target population , content , lay-out and length of question naires , none appeared to be obviously better based on our comparison . All three presented advantages and drawbacks and could be used for the satisfaction evaluation of psychiatric in patients . However , if comparison across medical services or hospitals is desired , using a generic question naire might be advantageous
For common instruments such as the CES-D , MADRS-S and HADS there is mounting evidence for adequate psychometric properties .
Background Online question naires for measuring common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders are increasingly used .
The psychometrics of several pen- and -paper question naires have been re-examined for online use and new online instruments have been developed and tested for validity as well .
This study aims to review and synthesis e the literature on this subject and provide a framework for future research .