Staff Education on Depression Screening in an Outpatient Psychiatric Setting

Depression is among the common mental illnesses in the United States affecting 1 in 10 Americans. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening for depression irrespective of the risk factors. Yet, providers struggle to implement depression screening. Inadequate use of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) screening tool to identify and manage depression can lead to poor patient outcomes. PHQ-9 is valid and reliable tool used to diagnose depression and monitor treatment response. The purpose of this project was to develop, deliver, and evaluate an educational program for providers on the use of the PHQ-9 screening tool for the identification of depression. The design and implementation of this educational module was guided by the Iowa model of evidence-based practice. The research question focused on educating providers managing depression in an outpatient psychiatric clinic about using the PHQ-9 tool and assessing their knowledge and confidence levels before education, immediately after education intervention, and 1 month after. Six providers participated in the educational program and completed the pretest and posttest to evaluate the education. The results confirmed a significant change in the mean scores for participants’ knowledge and confidence levels postintervention.. Enhancing provider’s knowledge and confidence levels can facilitate proper diagnosis and treatment for depression, promote the health of clients’ families, and prevent health-related complications associated with depression, which can positively impact social change