Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Campus Access
Embargo Period
4-28-2021
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Post Master's DNP Completion
Year Degree Awarded
2021
Month Degree Awarded
May
Advisor
Rachel K. Walker, PhD RN FAAN
Abstract
Background: Primary care providers are rarely trained on how to use common depression screening tools like the PHQ, leading to wide variations in practice, underdiagnosis, and undertreatment of this common chronic condition. Therefore, the goal of the quality improvement project was to evaluate the effectiveness of training primary care providers on the use of standardized depression screening tools.
Methods: An investigator-generated survey, informed by the medical director, measured changes in primary care provider knowledge of the PHQ-9. Survey responses were collected pre and post-intervention and analyzed via paired t-tests and descriptive summary statistics.
Results: A paired t-test was used for the evaluation of any change from pre to post intervention. The results were considered to be statistically significant (t = 3.8730, df = 5, p = 0.0117).
Conclusions: The primary care setting is ideal for initiating the depression screening process. Outcomes of this project showed a significant increase in knowledge of the correct use of the PHQ-9 after an educational intervention.
Keywords: Depression, PHQ-9, screening for depression, depression in primary care
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