Page Title

Mundt, James C., Michael J. Bohn, Monica King, Michael T. Hartley: Automating Standard Alcohol Use Assessment Instruments Via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Technology. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 26(2): 207-211.

Background Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology integrates touch-tone telephones with computer-automated data processing. IVR offers a convenient, efficient method for remote collection of self-report data.

Methods Twenty-six subjects recruited from an outpatient alcohol treatment center completed IVR and paper/pencil versions of a demographic and drinking history questionnaire, Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale, Drinker Inventory of Consequences, Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale, Alcohol Dependence Scale and two numeric rating scales of craving and desire to drink during the prior week. Administration of the instruments in both formats was repeated one week later. The order of administration method was counter-balanced between subjects and reversed across data collection sessions. Scale and subscale scores from both methods were correlated within sessions. Test-retest correlations were also calculated for each method. A criterion of a = .01 was used to control Type I statistical error. Study subjects were compensated $40.00 for participation.

Results Intermethod correlations within each session were significant for all of the instruments administered. Test-retest correlations for both methods were also significant, except for the numeric ratings. Scores on the Alcohol Dependence Scale obtained via IVR were significantly lower than those collected by paper/pencil. Other differences between the data collection methods or across the sessions were inconsistent. The average IVR call length was 34 minutes and 23 seconds. Paper/pencil forms required an average of 18 minutes and 38 seconds to complete and an additional 10 minutes and 17 seconds of data entry.

Discussion IVR technology provides a convenient alternative to collecting self-report measures of treatment outcomes. Both paper/pencil and IVR assessment provide highly convergent data and demonstrate good test-retest reliability. Alcohol Dependence Scale score differences between methods highlight special considerations for IVR adaptation of existing paper/pencil instruments. Benefits of IVR include procedural standardization, automatic data scoring, direct electronic storage, and remote accessibility from multiple locations.

Key Words Interactive Voice Response, IVR, Telephone Assessment, Alcoholism, Psychometrics