The Validity and Reliability of the WHO Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN Thai Version): Mood Disorders Section
Thawatchai Krisanaprakornkit MD*, Suchat Paholpak MD*, Nawanant Piyavhatkul MD*, Jiraporn Khiewyoo PhD (Population and Development)**
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen ** Department of Biostatistics and Demography, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen
Background : Mood disorders are one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders that have early onset, are
chronic and can cause functional impairment. It is therefore crucial to establish an accurate diagnosis for
treatment and research purposes.
Objectives : The authors aimed to test the validity and reliability of the WHO Schedules for Clinical Assessment
in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN (cid:31)Thai Version): Mood Disorders Section.
Materials and Methods : First, psychiatrists competent in the use of the schedules and their underlying objectives
tests the linguistic clarity of the Thai psychiatric schedules in four regions of the country. Then between
October 2003 and August 2004, Reliability of SCAN: mood disorder section was tested among 30 partici-
pants, including mood disordered patients and normal volunteers.
Results : Based on reactions from Thais and consultations from competent psychiatrists, content validity was
established. The duration of interviews for the mood disorder sections averaged 63.6 min (SD = 17.1). The
inter- and intra-rater reliability kappa were 0.80 (0.77-0.83) and 0.86 (0.84-0.88), respectively. The reli-
ability of the majority of items reached substantial to almost perfect agreement; however, 1 item (1%) had only
slight agreement and 15 items (12%) had moderate agreement, and needed clarification of the scoring
method.
Conclusion : The Mood Disorders Sections of the WHO Neuropsychiatry Schedules for Clinical Assessment
(SCAN (cid:31)Thai Version) were effective tools for diagnosing mood disorders among Thais.
Keywords : Semi-structured interview, Schedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry, Validity, Reli- ability, Mood disorders, Mania, Depression, Dysthymia, Cyclothymia
