Author-Organized Development of a Partly Delphi-Endorsed Draft Geriatric Mental Health Questionnaire in Korean Medicine

Background: Mental-health instruments in Korean medicine (KM) exist for specific constructs such as Hwa-Byung, but a multidomain patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) specifically addressing broader mental health in geriatrics has not been established. This study synthesized expert opinion to inform a preliminary KM-informed geriatric mental-health PROM.Methods: A web-based Delphi survey, designed by 4 experienced KM clinicians, was conducted in 3 rounds. The questionnaire covered conceptualization, construction, symptom concepts, and sources of content. Statements/items were classified according to the distribution of ratings (1-3, 4-6, and 7-9 bands). There were 43 statements/items rated in Round 1 and Round 3 was prespecified as the final round. Eligible participants (board-certified KM neuropsychiatry specialists or professors of KM neuropsychiatry at KM universities in Korea) were invited (N = 56). Patients and caregivers did not participate.Results: Eleven experts completed all 3 rounds. Agreement consensus was reached on the need for a KM-informed geriatric mental-health PROM, Likert-type responses, a 1-month recall period, and several symptom concepts and content sources. After the Delphi rounds, a 36-statement/item draft was organized into depression (9 items), anxiety (10 items), anger (8 items), and helplessness (9 items). The domains were not expert panel-rated, and were only partly Delphi-endorsed due to literature-derived and expert-developed content.Conclusion: The Delphi process informed selected concepts and development choices but does not validate the specific 36-item/4-domain draft. The resulting instrument is an author-curated, partly Delphi-endorsed preliminary KM-informed geriatric mental-health PROM draft. Patient-facing content evaluation, management of somatic confounding, and confirmatory psychometric testing are required before clinical or research use.