Depression revealed: the need for screening, treatment, and monitoring.
Depression is common among both the elderly and those with chronic conditions. Unidentified and inadequately treated depression in home health patients has serious and costly consequences. The authors argue that many negative consequences can be avoided by careful management. They discuss the importance of adding a structured depression tool to routine assessments when indicated, present a 3-step approach for depression screening and monitoring, and describe 1 method for tool selection based on measurement soundness and utility.
Chronic Disease Management, Baptist Health Home Health and Hospice, Little Rock, AR 72210, USA. Paula.Suter@baptist-health.org
Paula
P
Suter
W Newton
WN
Suter
Donna
D
Johnston
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D019985:Benchmarking; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires