Asian Journal
Of Traditional Medicines

Abstract: Aim: Depression is one of the five most common diseases in the world. One of the most common biological causes of depression is cold dystemperament of vital spirit (medical), which is based on the traditional Persian medicine (TPM). Medical spirit is steam that has been created from transparent and pure blood and moves various powers in the body. Therefore, we began to design and build a questionnaire based on the principles of TPM to quantify the qualitative data, improve the diagnosis of this disease, and examine its validity and reliability. Methods: The specific objectives of the questionnaire were determined and tree diagram was drawn. A few questions were designed for each of the terminal branches according to branch’s score. The questionnaire was given to Persian Medicine experts, based on that the content validity ratio and content validity index were calculated. The reliability was analyzed by SPSS software. Results: According to the tree diagram a question bank including 70 questions was prepared. After face validity correction, 56 questions remained that were given 10 Persian Medicine experts. Based on expert’s opinions, questions with CVR <62% and CVI <79% were excluded and 36 questions remained. During data analysis by SPSS software, questions were excluded that reduced internal consistency and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to less than 0.7 and finally 33 questions were approved. Conclusion: Questionnaire “assessment of vital spirit cold dystemperament” is valid and it can be considered as a reliable tool to assess the relevant psychiatric disorders such as depression.

Key words: Depression, Traditional Persian Medicine, Vital Spirit Cold Dystemperament Questionnaire