Objective - Thailands mental health crisis is exacerbated by high demand and a shortage of mental health professionals. The research objective was to develop and validate the Detection and Monitoring Intelligence Network for Depression (DMIND) questionnaire designed to be culturally relevant and easily administered in clinical settings. Crafted with expert input items specifically conducive to artificial intelligence (AI) analysis were selected to facilitate the future development of an AI-assisted depression scoring model. This approach underscores the tools dual utility in both human-led and technology-enhanced diagnostics. Materials and Methods- We enrolled 81 participants from psychiatric and tertiary care hospitals in Bangkok. Participants were assessed using the DMIND questionnaire followed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17). Statistical analyses included the content validity index (CVI) Cronbach s alpha Pearson s correlation coefficient Cohen s kappa and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The Liu method Youden index and nearest neighbor method were used to determine the optimal cut-off point Results- The DMIND questionnaire showed strong validity with an item-level CVI (I-CVI) and scale-level CVI (S-CVI) exceeding 1.0 indicating strong consensus on its relevance and utility. The tool also demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach s alpha = 0.96). ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.88 indicating high accuracy in depression screening. An optimal cut-off score of 11.5 was identified balancing predictive value and sensitivity. Conclusion- The DMIND questionnaire represents a significant advancement in innovative mental health diagnostics addressing unmet clinical needs by providing accurate and efficient assessments capable of AI integration for further enhancing mental health service delivery in Thailand. Keywords: Depression Depression Screening Mental Health Artificial intelligence

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This study was conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethical Review Board of the Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry (008/2566) and the Faculty of Medicine Chulalongkorn University (COA No. 1266/2023).

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