AUTOMATED TELEPHONE SCREENING SURVEY FOR DEPRESSION

Objective.-To test the application of fully automated telephone screening using computerized digital voice recordings and touch-tone responses to assess symptoms of depression. Design.-A cross-sectional study of a 2-week-long telephone survey. Setting.-Toll-free telephone calls placed from home, work, or school to a central telephone/computer system at a telecommunications company in the Boston, Mass, area. Participants.-A total of 1812 participants called the system. Of these, 278 were students and faculty at a large midwestern state university, 725 were employees of a large northeastern high-technology firm, and 809 did not identify which site they were calling from. Main Outcome Measures.-The 20-question multiple-choice Zung Depression Scale was used to screen for depressive symptoms, and additional questions gathered demographic and caller satisfaction information. Results.-No technical problems were encountered during the trial. Of 1812 callers, 1597 (88.1%) completed all questions. Of these, 412 callers (25.8%) met criteria for ''moderate or marked'' depression and another 194 (12.1%) met criteria for ''severe or extreme'' depression. The majority of callers scoring positive for depression had received no previous treatment for depression. Of callers who completed the screening questionnaire, 74.6% reported the call to have been al least ''moderately'' helpful. Conclusion.-Readily available low-cost technology provides a fully automated, widely accessible, and confidential method of screening for a common mental illness.