title: Missed opportunities in primary care: the importance of identifying depression through screening, family history, and chronic disease management.
abstract: This study explored the adequacy of depression screening in a community health center. The medical charts of individuals (N = 90) enrolled at a community health center were randomly selected, reviewed, and compared to current standard-of-care guidelines for four elements: family history, screening for depression, control of chronic illnesses, and missed opportunities for preventive care. Family history documentation collected by the providers was limited and 44.4% had no family history. There was no routine depression screening process, although 48.9% of the clients had red flags (warning signals) for depression. Laboratory values used for screening control of chronic disease in the medical records were: fasting glucose levels ⩽100 mg/dL (46%), total cholesterol levels ⩽200 mg/dL (38%), and blood pressure ⩽120/80 mmHg (23%). The results highlight the need to focus on depression screening as part of preventive care and the management of chronic disease in the primary care setting.
authors: School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Servisces, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA. amaradie@gmu.edu
authors: Ann H
authors: AH
authors: Maradiegue
authors: Fakiha
authors: F
authors: Khan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000451:nursing; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D015897:Comorbidity; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing*; D008487:Medical History Taking; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D059017:Primary Care Nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002784:Cholesterol