Assessment of occupational impairment and disability from depression.
OBJECTIVE
Examination of the relationship of impairment to disability in the work psychiatry context and identification of practical strategies for occupational physicians to apply to screening, management, and appropriate referral.


METHODS
Medical literature review.


RESULTS
The determination and differentiation of impairment and disability is a complex psychiatric task which requires consideration of the type of employment, assessment of depression-related functional impairments that can create disability for a particular occupation, and individual factors.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors propose a new and more consistent strategy for identifying impairment severity and its impact on employment, including simple procedures to screen for depression and guidelines to minimize role and boundary confusion.
Williams
C Donald
CD
cdonald@aol.com
Schouten
Ronald
R
D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*