A Simulation Game to Diagnosing Major Depressive Disorder based on PHQ-9 for Psychiatrist Program in Thailand: An Evaluation of Game Interface Design and Prototype

Abstract

Owing to the limited access to get diagnosed with Mental Depressive Disorder (MDD), people who get suffering from this illness are dramatically increasing in recent years. In Thailand university’s psychiatrist program, prospective psychiatrists are required to support in-service psychiatrists diagnose patients with the interview. Concerned with the subjectivity issue, this process usually results in disappointed diagnosis; eventually, the patients encounter delayed treatment courses. With these considerations, this study attempts to address the before-mentioned flaws by proposing a simulation game to help the patients determine the level of MDD regardless of psychiatrists’ subjectivity and long-waiting list matters. To be more personalized, this game is designed into three themes for different age groups. The mechanism of this game is based on diagnosing tools, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. While playing on game scenarios, the users are automatically diagnosed; accordingly, the guideline for initial recovery is given. Before game development, this paper primarily presents the game interface which is designed to be simple and comfortable for the MDD patients and any persons. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed design, a game prototype on a teenage group is developed and examined by experienced psychiatrists on medical perspective, UX/UI experts on game design, and sample users on their attitudes. The findings of this study can serve not only as a foundation to develop the better game but also as an alternative learning tool for psychiatrist program.