Celebrating 20 years of collaboration
A Q&A with assessment publisher GL Assessment
For nearly two decades, Mapi Research Trust (MRT) and GL Assessment (GL) have collaborated to ensure the responsible global dissemination of two psychological instruments: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), one of the most widely-used instruments, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Since 2006, this partnership has reflected a shared commitment to protecting scientific integrity, safeguarding authors’ intellectual property, and enabling streamlined, compliant access for the international research community. In this conversation with Patrick McGuire, International Business Consultant at GL Assessment, we reflect on what has made the partnership successful, how it has evolved, and why instruments like HADS continue to endure more than 40 years after their development.
1. GL Assessment and Mapi Research Trust have worked together since 2006 to distribute the HADS and GHQ globally. What made MRT the right partner, and what do you believe has been the key to this successful, long-standing partnership?
As publisher of the HADS and GHQ and guardian of the authors’ copyright and intellectual property, GL recognised that MRT’s deep expertise in serving scientific, clinical and academic communities, combined with their streamlined global licensing and distribution of Clinical Outcome Assessments (COAs) made them an ideal partner.
2. For instrument publishers evaluating long-term distribution partners, what capabilities or safeguards do you believe are essential to protecting scientific integrity and ensuring global access? Based on your experience, where has MRT demonstrated particular strength?
There are several factors I would highlight which have been key to the success of GL’s collaboration with MRT:
- Co-ordination of translation projects in collaboration with ICON Language Services.
- eCOA best practice guidance, screenshot review and certification and expert review.
- Expansion of the eProvide team, based in Europe, to include different time zones e.g. the USA and APAC (Asia-Pacific) so communications with prospects and licensees are more aligned to the local region leading to improved communication timelines.
- Detailed financial information in the form of royalty and sales reports which give us full visibility at a micro-level. The finance team continuously adapts these reports to meet evolving needs, ensuring the right level of detail and flexibility for informed decision‑making.
3. The landscape of clinical outcomes assessment has changed dramatically since 2006, with increased regulatory scrutiny, digital transformation, and evolving patient-centricity requirements. How do you believe MRT has evolved to support you in your approach?
MRT has been at the forefront in establishing and maintaining quality standards and customer service and have constantly worked to improve their prompt and efficient response times and communications when answering new enquiries and processing new licence applications.
As a result of the huge growth of digital questionnaires (eCOA), MRT has produced comprehensive guides for licensees for the rendering and implementation of an eHADS and eGHQ, which have greatly helped standardise the process across multiple devices and platforms.
4. The HADS continues to be one of the most widely used instruments in clinical research. From your perspective, what accounts for the HADS's enduring relevance and popularity among researchers and pharmaceutical sponsors more than 40 years after its initial development?
The HADS maintains an enduring popularity as a swift and effective screening tool for psychological distress in clinical and research settings. A primary reason for its sustained use is that it excludes physical symptoms (such as fatigue or insomnia) that could be caused by a physical illness rather than a mental health issue.
It is a brief (14-item) self-reporting questionnaire that takes only 2–6 minutes to complete, less than one minute to score and is widely recognised as a valid and reliable measure of anxiety and depression. It has been translated and validated in more than 140 languages and is used for initial screening of subjects and to track progression (or resolution) of psychological symptoms.
While originally designed for hospital outpatients, use of the HADS has expanded to primary care, cancer care, palliative care, general practice and is one of the most cited psychiatric scales with more than 7,500 citations.
Thank you to Patrick McGuire for taking the time to reflect on our 20 years of collaboration. To access the HADS or the GHQ for use in your research, please visit ePROVIDETM. eBooklets with detailed instructions on digitising both the HADS and GHQ are available upon licensing.
Additional reading: Whitepaper | Digitising COAs: A streamlined approach to approval