Abstract

Problem: Healthcare is not considered a human right within the United States. The vulnerable and underserved face consistent barriers to healthcare such as racial inequities, geographic location, and lack of access to name a few. Mental health crises have risen ten-fold around the world secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to cultivate a process to identify early signs of depression and promptly initiate referrals within the community. Intervention: The PHQ-2 screening tool was implemented to address the current health needs of an underserved population on the mobile health unit. Individuals served on the mobile health unit were included in the intervention. In addition to the screenings commonly performed on the mobile unit, the addition of the PHQ-2 depression screening tool was provided to each client.

Measures: The PHQ-2 Depression scale is a universal tool used that can be utilized at any point for depression screenings. The PHQ-2 is the shortened version of the PHQ-9 depression scale used to swiftly identify earlier signs of depression before a formal referral. This is a two-part tool that can address clients' feelings over the last 2 weeks.

Results: The sample size was 24 (n=24). There were 5 males and 19 females in the study. The most frequent age group seen were 51-70. There were 4 people who scored 3 or higher and were given referrals into the community.

Conclusion: For this research project, the outcome was to identify depression out in the communities and attain the proper referrals for individuals who score a 3 or higher. In this specific study, the average score for the PHQ-2 Depression scale was 1. Future research could direct the focus on expanding to different populations. Depression remains a taboo, but through further outreach, we can continue to break down barriers.

Author Details

Allyson Fortenberry, DNP Student- Adult Gerontology Primary Care, allyson_fortenberry@yahoo.com

Sigma Membership

Theta Tau

Lead Author Affiliation

Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Descriptive/Correlational

Research Approach

Quantitative Research

Keywords:

Primary Care Knowledge, Depression Screening, Vulnerable Patients

Advisor

Krumbach, Jillian

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Nebraska Methodist College

Degree Year

2023

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Faculty Approved: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Full Text of Presentation

wf_yes

Download

Share

COinS