Screening Patients for Depression: Benefits and Barriers

Abstract

Depression is a highly prevalent mental health disorder in primary care. It affects individuals all over the world. One way to help prevent depression is to conduct depression screenings. Depression screenings help identify patients with under diagnosed depressive disorders. It also helps with the reduction and remission of depression symptoms. As part of my internship, I screened patients on the Behavioral Health Department list at North Shore Community Health Center, over the age of 18, for depression via the phone using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Social Determinants of Health Questionnaire. These questionnaires allow patients to rank how certain issues have bothered them over the past two weeks and determine how the lack of access to necessities impacts their health.