The Implementation of Screening Pediatric Patients Ages 8–11 for Depression with a Screening Tool in the Outpatient Setting

Abstract

Depression has been found in children as young as three years of age, yet current guidelines recommend depression screening at age 12. The purpose of this DNP project is to identify areas of improvement for depression screening in pediatrics. The DNP project highlights the necessary measures an APRN can implement for beneficial changes in the outpatient primary care setting. The project aims to address whether screening for depression in pediatric patients ages 8-11 identifies those at risk utilizing a reliable pre-existing screening tool in the outpatient primary care setting. A validated screening tool, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in Children (CES-DC), was provided to a sample of 50 pediatric patients ages 8-11, at a single community health center. The pediatric patients had pre-established primary care in order to ensure the positive screening tools were properly managed by appropriate personnel based on the discretion of the primary care provider. The screening took place over eight weeks and required informed consent from the legal guardian/parent as well as assent from the pediatric patient. Of the analyzed 50 pediatric patients, 34% screened positive on the CES-DC screening tool. No differences were found for age, gender, or mode of completion among those who screened positive. Results highlight the need for further implementation of pediatric depression screening in the outpatient primary care setting, in addition to further research and development of validated pediatric depression screening tools on pediatric patients 8-11. Keywords: pediatric, depression, screening tool, outpatient, primary care

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

First Advisor

Elizabeth Magriby

Date of Award

1-1-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

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