Adolescent Depression Screening in Primary Care

The purpose of the project was to identify the most reliable and valid adolescent depression screening tool(s) to be used in primary care and develop a manuscript discussing the significance of adolescent depression, the importance of screening in primary care, and the most effective screening tools to be used in the primary care setting. The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening all adolescents between ages 12 and 18 for depression. As the primary source of healthcare for adolescents, primary care is the ideal setting for screening adolescents for depression. However, nearly 50% of all depression cases are missed in primary care. The high percentage of undiagnosed adolescent depression indicates a discrepancy between the screening recommendation and actual screening being performed in the primary care setting. Project objectives include (a.) comparing and contrasting recognized adolescent depression screening tools in order to identify the tool(s) that are most valid, reliable, and practical for pediatric primary care providers; (b) preparing a scholarly manuscript on adolescent depression and screening tools that would meet criteria for a review article, with the potential of also being a continuing education (CE) article; (c) submitting the manuscript to a respected and appropriate peer-reviewed journal, i.e., Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners; (d) further disseminating the project to peers through a professional poster or podium presentation. Adolescent depression has become a word-wide health concern, as a significant number of adolescents are affected by depression. The causes of depression include genetic risk factors, psychosocial risk factors, and cognitive risk factors. Depression affects adolescents of all races and gender. Diagnosing adolescent depression promptly in primary care is vital for early treatment and prevention of life-long complications. The project was implemented by developing a table of evidence outlining available screening tools and their sensitivity and specificity and creating a scholarly manuscript. These were evaluated by the project chair and content experts. The manuscript was submitted to the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and an application was submitted for a poster presentation at the 2015 Snowbird CME Conference.