Screening for Depression in the Primary Care Clinics in Saudi Arabia

Background: Depression has a significant morbidity rate internationally and it is associated with poor health status and reduced quality of life in the community. A lack of identification of depression on primary care practices has been associated with lack of screening tools or specific protocols and lack of adherence to practice-level guidelines and depression screening implementation. Purpose: This project assessed whether primary care medical providers in Saudi Arabia were able to recognize the symptoms of depression in their patients and tested a new protocol and tools to address the issue. This study focused on the population that was visiting a large Healthcare Medical Facility in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Results: 150 patients were screened. The results indicated that up to 34.6 % of the patients turned out to be positive with majority being women of reproductive age. It also indicates that majority of the people in need of these services are women. Conclusion: This has confirmed the need for such a screening tool in primary health care facilities in Saudi Arabia. The results further indicate that early diagnosis of depression by such facilities will lead to improved management, increase quality of life, and potentially save resources for the patients who would have been referred, making this project very timely and relevant