title: Use of mobile assessment technologies in inpatient psychiatric settings.
abstract: Mobile electronic devices (i.e., PDAs, cellphones) have been used successfully as part of research studies of individuals with severe mental illness living in the community. More recently, efforts have been made to incorporate such technologies into outpatient treatments. However, few attempts have been made to date to employ such mobile devices among hospitalized psychiatric patients. In this article, we evaluate the potential use of such devices in inpatient psychiatric settings using 33 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. Employing an Experience Sampling Method approach, we provide support for the feasibility of using such devices, along with examples of potentially clinically-relevant information that can be obtained using such technologies, including assessment of fluctuations in the severity of psychotic symptoms and negative mood in relation to social context, unit location, and time of day. Following these examples, we discuss issues related to the potential use of mobile electronic devices by patients hospitalized at inpatient psychiatric settings including issues related to patients' compliance, assessment schedules, questionnaire development, confidentiality issues, as well as selection of appropriate software/hardware. Finally, we delineate some issues and areas of inquiry requiring additional research and development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: kimhyda@nyspi.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kimhy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vakhrusheva
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Yuanjia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ambulatory assessment; Experience sampling method; Inpatient; Mobile electronic devices; Psychosis; Schizophrenia