AUTHOR=Weierstall Roland , Crombach Anselm , Nandi Corina , Bambonyé Manassé , Probst Thomas , Pryss Rüdiger 

TITLE=Effective Adoption of Tablets for Psychodiagnostic Assessments in Rural Burundi: Evidence for the Usability and Validity of Mobile Technology in the Example of Differentiating Symptom Profiles in AMISOM Soldiers 1 Year After Deployment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.490604

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.490604

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Research on the use of mobile technology in health sciences has identified several advantages of so-called mHealth (mobile health) applications. Tablet-supported clinical assessments are becoming more and more prominent in clinical applications, even in low-income countries. The present study made use of the application of tablet computers in the assessment of clinical symptom profiles in a sample of Burundian AMISOM soldiers (i.e., African Union Mission to Somalia; a mission approved by the UN). More specifically, the study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of mHealth-supported assessments in field research, which were conducted in a resource-poor setting, and proves the validity of the obtained data. 
463 soldiers of the AMISOM forces were investigated after return from a one-year military mission in Somalia. Symptoms of PTSD and depression were assessed. Within a data-driven approach, Latent-Profile-Analysis revealed four distinct groups based on the soldiers’ PTSD and depression symptom profiles: class 1: moderate PTSD, class 2: moderate Depression, class 3: Low overall symptoms, and class 4: high overall symptoms. The four classes of soldiers differed significantly in their PTSD and depression scores. 
The study clearly demonstrates that tablet-supported assessments can provide a useful application of mobile technology in large-scale studies, especially in resource-poor settings. Based on the data obtained in the study, it was possible to differentiate different sub-groups of soldiers with distinct symptom profiles, proving the statistical validity of the data obtained. Moreover, advantages and challenges for the application in a resource-poor setting are outlined and discussed.