MAPSS

MAPSS is a computerized psychological screening software.

The Multi-Adaptive Psychological Screening Software (MAPSS) was developed at the Outpatient Clinic for Victims of Torture and War at the Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine (University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich). This software aims to facilitate self-report-based standardized multi-lingual mental health assessment and research. In MAPSS, self-report questionnaires are presented on an electronic tablet in both written and auditory form in the respondent's mother tongue.

MAPSS was developed and programmed in cooperation with clinical scientists. It consists of both an administrator and a user interface and adapts automatically to different operating systems and devices such as tablets and smartphones.

The administrator operates on an interface with three sections:

(1) the editor section in which the administrator can add instructions, items, questionnaires, a variety of reply sets, and rules for skipping items and can upload audio files. The editor can also share the questionnaires with other users/administrators.

(2) the interview section in which the administrator can create questionnaire sets, define their order, choose a language and create a link either for a personalized or an anonymous interview/assessment. It is also possible to send a link with a password and the interview/assessment can be done from everywhere with internet access.

(3) the results section in which the administrator can organize and automatically export results for statistical analysis and show diagnostic reports, which can be downloaded as pdf-file.

The interviewee operates on a surface on which items previously entered by the administrator are displayed in the interviewee’s language of choice. It is also possible to change the language within an interview/assessment. Depending on the user’s preferences, items can also be presented in spoken language by activating an audio file.

MAPSS has been tested in a study at the University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich and proved to be feasible and very well accepted by patients and study participants.

The MAPSS APP operates on android devices and it allows to save data locally. To be able to use the app, one needs and account from the adminstration. Once an account has been created and granted, edited questionnairs from the web surface can be easily downloaded and used. After the assessment/interview the data can be uploaded to the server. This makes it very easy to use the app in different settings even without internet access.