{"title":"Enhancing Provider Mental Health Screening in Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Project.","authors":"Lauren N D'Amico, Hannah Hanania, Loretta T Lee","doi":"10.1891/JDNP-2022-0042.","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background:</b> Depression and anxiety occur in 7.8% and 19.1% of the US population, respectively. About half of those patients are diagnosed in primary care. <b>Objective:</b> The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve the screening and diagnosing of anxiety and/or depression among adult patients at a primary care clinic by implementing an evidence-based mental health screening interview technique. <b>Methods:</b> The team implemented a mental health screening interview technique that incorporates background, affect, trouble, handling, and empathy and motivational interviewing techniques in addition to self-report surveys. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were conducted to assess providers' perceptions of the new interview technique. ICD-10 code data were gathered to assess the effectiveness of the new mental health screening interview technique. <b>Results:</b> The number of documented diagnoses of single-episode major depressive disorder decreased by 18%, recurrent major depressive disorder increased by 34%, and anxiety disorders increased by 3%. There were more favorable provider perceptions of the new screening interview technique versus the traditional screening method. <b>Conclusions:</b> The results show an improvement in provider comfort and providers preferred the new mental health screening when using an evidence-based mental health screening interview technique. <b>Implications for nursing:</b> The results show the potential benefits of using a structured mental health interview with self-report screening tools when diagnosing anxiety and depression in primary care.</p>","PeriodicalId":40310,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1891/JDNP-2022-0042.","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"NURSING","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Background: Depression and anxiety occur in 7.8% and 19.1% of the US population, respectively. About half of those patients are diagnosed in primary care. Objective: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve the screening and diagnosing of anxiety and/or depression among adult patients at a primary care clinic by implementing an evidence-based mental health screening interview technique. Methods: The team implemented a mental health screening interview technique that incorporates background, affect, trouble, handling, and empathy and motivational interviewing techniques in addition to self-report surveys. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were conducted to assess providers' perceptions of the new interview technique. ICD-10 code data were gathered to assess the effectiveness of the new mental health screening interview technique. Results: The number of documented diagnoses of single-episode major depressive disorder decreased by 18%, recurrent major depressive disorder increased by 34%, and anxiety disorders increased by 3%. There were more favorable provider perceptions of the new screening interview technique versus the traditional screening method. Conclusions: The results show an improvement in provider comfort and providers preferred the new mental health screening when using an evidence-based mental health screening interview technique. Implications for nursing: The results show the potential benefits of using a structured mental health interview with self-report screening tools when diagnosing anxiety and depression in primary care.