Title : Depression screening in adult primary care patients
Abstract:
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders plaguing Americans, showing a prevalence of nearly 15% among adults in the United States. 4 The United States Preventative Task Force recommends depression screening on all adults (ages ≥18), including pregnant and postpartum women, and individuals already receiving treatment for depression in the United States. This study aims to bring light to the lack of depression screening in primary care settings and to implement routine screening using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) in adults. This is a quasi-experimental research project and has an aim of quality improvement in implementing routine depression screening in an urban primary care clinic. Using chart review of all patients 18-80 years old, including pregnant and postpartum women, results will be evaluated using chi-square analysis to determine if the PHQ was completed and if treatment was initiated based on PHQ results
