Implementation of a Depression Identification Protocol for Older Adults Residing in a Long-term care community: A quality improvement project
Nature and scope of the project
This project proposes that implementation of a long-term care (LTC) depression protocol improves facility recognition and management of depression. Despite the availability of depression screening tools, depression remains frequently unrecognized in LTC. The primary goal of this project is to implement a Depression Identification Protocol to improve identification of depression and enhance nurses’ knowledge.
Synthesis and analysis of supporting literature
Matos Queirós et al. (2021) synthesized the factors that contribute to depression in LTC, including loss of autonomy. Addressing depression in this population is paramount to prevent adverse health outcomes. Evidence promotes the use of geriatric-specific screening tools, such as the CSDD-4, validated by Jeon et al. (2016), as part of a protocol with education to improve depression recognition and increase screening and referral rates.
Project implementation
The project will occur at The Danish Home of Chicago, a LTC facility. The education for nurses will focus on geriatric depression and the depression protocol. After the education, nurses will screen residents for depression using CSDD-4 and place referrals to the psychiatric PA-C for positive results.
Evaluation criteria
Data will be collected after in-service using a pre-test, post-test, and four-week post-test. Aggregate data will be collected from the EMR on the number of completed depression screens and referrals during the six-week screening period. Post-implementation data will be collected from the EMR to evaluate the outcomes of referrals. The timeframe for this proposal is January 2025 to April 2025.
Outcomes
Descriptive statistics will be used to evaluate the relationship between variables and outcomes.
Recommendations
This will be reported after data is collected and analyzed post-implementation.
Implementation of a Depression Identification Protocol for Older Adults Residing in a Long-term care community: A quality improvement project
