Improving Adolescent Depression Prevention and Management through Improved Provider Depression Literacy

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to improve provider knowledge of prevention and management of adolescent depression through a provider-focused educational intervention that included use of a handout to promote adolescent depression literacy.Background: Adolescent depression is a significant problem in Utah and in the nation. Improved adolescent and parental depression literacy are one way to positively impact the issue of adolescent depression. School and electronic-based adolescent depression literacy programs have been shown to decrease stigma against depression, improve help-seeking behavior, and coping skills. There are limitations to these programs, though, as not every school provides this education, and it is hard to ensure participation. Primary care providers (PCPs) are ideally placed to manage depression and improve adolescent and parental depression literacy because they often know the adolescent and their risk factors for depression. Unfortunately, many pediatric PCPs are not comfortable in their knowledge base to effectively manage adolescent depression. Improved knowledge, though an educational intervention, can help pediatric providers improve their ability to manage adolescent depression and facilitate adolescent depression literacy. Methods: This quality improvement (QI) project used a single site, one-group quasi-experimental pretest, posttest design. An educational intervention was given to eight providers at Utah Valley Pediatrics, North Provo Office. The educational intervention included education on using a handout to facilitate adolescent depression literacy during office visits. The mean improvement between the pre-questionnaire and the post-questionnaire was measured. Providers were also surveyed after one month of using the handout in practice to understand the outcome of use of the handout. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in both the provider questionnaire scores after the educational intervention and providers’ rating of their ability to teach adolescents about depression. Providers that used the handout consistently felt that it was useful to facilitate depression education for adolescents. Conclusions: Education for providers at Utah Valley Pediatrics was effective in improving provider depression literacy and their comfort level in teaching adolescents about depression. The depression literacy handout was deemed useful by the providers as a tool to facilitate adolescent depression literacy.